Crusade of Reckoning: Fall of the Justice League
by Ghost Writer 91
Summary: A series of oneshots to coincide with Crusade of Reckoning. WARNING: contains spoilers if you haven't read Crusade of Reckoning.
1. Gotham

**Gotham City**

9 Months After the Funeral Rites for King Kal-El

Prince Bruce "Al" Wayne and Princess Kara Kal-El ran through the castle gardens together laughing. King Bruce and Queen Selina were walking in the gardens arm-in-arm. It had snowed last night and the gardens were enveloped in white. Bruce wore a gray knee-length tunic and trousers, his sword belt, and a fur cloak. Queen Selina wore a purple dress with a fur cloak.

Conner Kent and Damian Wayne were practicing archery. Christopher was sparring with Timothy Drake, the king's ward, using wooden short swords. Tim was only a few years younger than Chris. Conner and Damian were just about the same age. "All the boys have grown close but all they do is train these days." Bruce said.

"They miss Kal-El and they want to avenge him. We shall just have to keep a careful eye on them." Selina said and Bruce nodded. Damian was aiming with a crossbow when a bolt came out of nowhere and hit the target dead center. The boys turned around to see Princess Helena Wayne wielding a crossbow. She curtsied. Damian dropped the crossbow and started chasing her. Chris and Tim stopped sparring and laughed. "You should stop this, Bruce, before one of them gets hurt." Selina said.

"It is only a little sport, my love. Damian is rough but he will not hurt her." Bruce said grinning for the first time in a long while. Selina loved seeing grins on everyone's faces again. They had all been melancholy these past months. Bruce took her hand and they continued walking.

Later that night, Bruce lay in bed looking over some reports. "Can those wait until the morrow?" Selina muttered half awake.

"Copplepot is borrowing large sums of money once again. Sir Richard says he wants to build an army to take back his family's throne." Bruce said.

"But no one wants him for a king. Even his own nobles supported your father's claim. Now put those away." Selina said.

"Very well." Bruce put the papers aside and blew out the candle. He lied on his left side and put his right arm around Selina. He kissed her cheek and she took his hand. They drifted off to sleep.

A guard was standing at his post when he heard a noise. He looked to his left and then his right and saw nothing. He readied his halberd and walked towards where he heard the noise. He cautiously walked around the corner and saw a deserted corridor and an open window. He relaxed and walked towards the window. He looked outside and saw nothing so he closed the window.

Then a man in black appeared behind him and broke his neck, catching him and his halberd before they hit the floor. He dragged the body to a nearby cupboard, stripped him, and stuffed him in the little closet. He put on the gray gambeson, gray enameled hauberk, gray surcoat with the large G on the front, and his sword belt. He took the halberd and walked off to fulfill his dark mission.

Sir Jason Blood walked the halls. He could not sleep. He was going to the court physician to see if he could get a sleep remedy. He passed an empty corridor and stopped. He looked around. This corridor is not supposed to be empty. "Calm yourself, Jason. For all you know he could be with a girl." He whispered to himself but he had his doubts.

If it was him, he would have hidden the body somewhere near so he would not be caught. He walked to the nearby cupboard and saw a foot sticking out of the door. He opened it and found the dead guard. All he wore were his trousers and white laced shirt. He quickly closed the cupboard door and ran down the hall.

Bruce and Selina were awoken by a loud banging on the door. "What in the name of…?" Bruce said and Selina groaned. He threw back the fur blanket and arose from bed. He opened the door. "What is it?"

"Forgive me, Sire, but there is an intruder in the castle. He killed a guard and took his mail. He could be anywhere." Sir Jason said quietly.

"You get Sir Richard and Sir Jonah at once. You ask all if they have seen a guard they do not know." Bruce said. Sir Jason nodded once and ran off. Bruce closed the door and turned around. Selina had swiftly thrown on some trousers and a shirt. "What are you doing?"

"That intruder is either a spy or is here for one of the children. I will not stand idly by and watch one of them get hurt." Selina said. She opened a locked wardrobe that held an array of weapons. She grabbed a whip and a dagger. She put the dagger into her boot.

"Fine, but I sending three knights with you. Gather the children and take them to the Great Hall. And makes sure Christopher takes his sword." Bruce said. He caressed her face. "I will come for you when the danger has past." Selina nodded. They kissed tenderly.

Selina shook Helena and Kara Kal-El awake. "Girls, wake up." Selina said softly.

"Mother? What is it?" Helena asked sleepily.

"Put on your slippers and robes, girls. We have to go to the Great Hall. Quickly, girls, quickly." Selina said. The girls got out of the large bed and did as they were told.

They exited Helena's bedchamber. "Chris, why do you have your sword?" Kara asked. Chris held the sword in its scabbard.

"Not now, little sister." Christopher said and picked her up. They quietly walked to the Great Hall on alert.

Bruce wore now wore trousers, a shirt, and boots. He held his falchion in its scabbard. "Well?" He quietly asked the three knights.

"People saw him walking up and down the castle but he never saw him enter, nor leave any rooms. He was not even trying to listen through doors. What is his true purpose?" Sir Jason Blood asked.

"He wanted us to put the children in the same place!" Bruce said in shock and took off running for the Great Hall with them close behind.

Selina sat atop a table with her whip wrapped around her arm. "Mother, may we go back to bed?" Helena asked.

"When your lord father comes for us, my sweet." Selina said. Helena frowned. She and the other children were sitting on the dias bored and tired. Christopher sat next to Selina on the table with his sword in his lap. "Something is wrong. It should not be taking this long." She whispered to him.

"It is a big castle." Christopher said.

"Then you do not know my husband. The day we met he said he would find me. Two days had not past when I found him waiting for me outside the inn I was staying… I do not like this. Be on your guard." Selina said. Chris then looked over his shoulder to the Hall doors. "What is it?" Selina asked.

"I heard something." Chris said.

Selina hopped down off the table and began walking to the Hall doors. Then one door burst open and entered a man dressed in gray mail and surcoat but Selina did not know him. He was average height, had dark hair and a scruffy thick beard. He held in his hand a bloodied sword. She could see the dead three knights outside the hall doors: One had a halberd in his chest and the other two had been stabbed. The stranger's gray surcoat was stained with blood and he was panting.

The children screamed. "GO!" Selina screamed and let the whip fall right off her arm. Christopher rushed the children out of a side door. The intruder growled and tried to run around her. Selina cracked the whip and it wrapped around his right ankle. She pulled and he tripped but he quickly held out his hands to break his fall. He groaned, grabbed the whip and pulled. He was stronger than her and she fell forward. She groaned and he was getting back up.

Selina whistled and he turned around. She threw the handle of the whip at him and the knot hit him right in the eye. He yelled and put his hand over his eye. Selina ran up to him kneed him in the stomach and punched him with all her might. He stumbled and she kicked him in the lower back. He fell down to his knees and she quickly kicked the sword out of his hand. She went for the sword and whirled around, and that is when she felt it: the blade of a dagger entering her abdomen. The intruder twisted the dagger and she quietly groaned. He pulled out the dagger and she fell back gasping breaths. He picked up the sword.

Christopher came out of nowhere and swung his sword at the intruder. The intruder blocked the blow but his eyes widened in fear when he saw Christopher. He immediately dropped down to one knee and croaked out, "My prince." Christopher hesitated, confused. Selina drew the dagger from her boot and stabbed the intruder in the back. He screamed out in pain and quickly struck her. He swung the sword at her but Christopher quickly deflected the blow and swung his sword, slitting the intruder's throat. The intruder fell over dead.

Bruce and the knights then burst into the Great Hall. Christopher dropped the sword, pale as a ghost; and then he retched not far from the body. Sir Richard went to his side and patted his back. Bruce rushed to Selina and held her in his arms. "Get the physician!" Sir Jonah rushed out. Selina was becoming pale and her breathing was shallow. He caressed her face. "Stay with me. Selina, stay with me." Bruce said.

"Bruce…so cold." Selina said softly. Bruce put pressure down on the wound.

"Where is the physician?! It is going to be alright. You are going to be alright. Just stay with me. I cannot lose you as well. I love you." Bruce said.

"I know… I love you." Selina said weakly and her eyes closed.

"Selina? Selina?" Bruce patted her cheek trying to wake her. "Selina!"

* * *

King Bruce Wayne stood over Queen Selina's tomb in his family's crypt. Her effigy looked as if she were only sleeping peacefully. Bruce wore all black. He put his hand on the effigy's marble hand. "One day I shall lie with you again and we shall sleep together for eternity." He said softly. He heard Lucius Fox's quiet footsteps. Fox wore all black as well, a fur robe, and with his chain of office: a gold chain with links in the shapes of G's. "Yes?" Bruce asked softly.

"Your war council is assembled, Sire." Lucius said. Bruce stroked the marble hand one last time and left the crypt.

In the council chamber. "Can we even expect Amazonian aid?" Asked Sir Clancy O'Hara, the general of the King's Army.

"As of now, all we can expect is their support. They will not send us aid unless Zod is a threat to them. And we do not need their help. We have gold, strong soldiers and knights, and a vast armory. And we have the Kryptonians. This war is good as won." Sir Harvey Bullock said.

"We must not be so hasty. Wars are unpredictable. They can sway either to victory or to defeat." Lucius Fox said.

"And what do you know of war, university man. You are a politician and nothing more." Bullock snapped.

"I went to war once…many years ago. And many believed the war was good as lost with the death of Thomas Wayne. And it would have been lost if not for Sir James Gordon. So have care of how you speak to me for I do know war! And all it brings is death." Fox said pointing a finger at Bullock. The council chamber was then silent except for one sound: The sound of Bruce's falchion tip slowly tapping the stone dias. They all turned to look at their wounded king.

Bruce had not had a barber attend him for days so his hair was unkempt and a dark stubble covered his chin. He sat on his throne in all black brooding and looking at the floor while tapping the tip of his blade on the floor. Sitting next to him, on Selina's throne was Prince Al dressed in black. The boy looked sad but he paid attention. "Sire, we can talk of war once your days of mourning are finished." Lucius said sympathetically. That is when the tapping stopped and Bruce looked up. His eyes were full of pain and so much anger.

"I want this army ready to sail for Krypton and no excuses. Fox, you will make all the arrangements and will serve as regent whilst I am away. I want Sir James Gordon to be in command of the garrison protecting the city and he shall still serve as High Sheriff of the realm. Sir Clancy will see to raising the troops. I want all the numbers by the month's end." Bruce said coldly.

A knight then entered the chamber with a letter in hand. He bowed and handed it to Lucius. "The seal is Amazonian." Lucius peeled off the seal and began to read. Lucius eyes then widened.

"Well?" Bruce asked tapping his index finger on his falchion's pommel.

"An assassin was sent to Themyscira as well as here, Sire. The assassin was a woman looking for Queen Lois. Queen Hippolyta was slain." The chamber was deadly quiet. "Diana has been crowned and the Amazons are raising their army at once. Like us, they plan to sail after the next moon." Lucius said.

"I want the army raised at once. While Sir James is in command here, I want more troops raised and trained if we should need reinforcements." King Bruce stood and they all bowed. He sheathed his falchion. "Bruce." He said and the boy followed his father out of the chamber.

Bruce sat in his bedchamber in the dark staring off into space with a goblet of wine in his hand. There was a knock on the door and Alfred Pennyworth entered with Lucius Fox. "I do not wish to be disturbed."

"Yes but Queen Lois has written." Lucius said and Bruce nodded once. "She writes that there is no need for Gotham or Themyscira to enter this war. And that you should be with your families at such a dire time."

Bruce sighed deeply. "You will write to the queen at once and tell her that I will lead my army to Krypton and to expect me by spring." Bruce said coldly. "Zod sent an assassin into my city, into my home. My queen is dead and he will SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!" He shot up as he yelled. "And tell Sir Michael Lane I wish to see him." He sat back down and motioned for Lucius to leave. He bowed and left the bedchamber.

"Sir Michael Lane." Alfred Pennyworth announced the knight. Sir Michael entered the bedchamber. Alfred bowed and closed the door.

Sir Michael wore a gray doublet with the large G on the breast, trousers, his sword belt, and black boots. "Your Grace." Sir Michael said and bowed.

Bruce downed the contents of his goblet and stood. "I want you to go Krypton. Find Zod and watch him. I want you to learn everything there is to know about him: His habits, his tactics, his fears, his wife, everything."

"Is that all you wish me to do about Zod?" Sir Michael asked, subtly asking if Bruce wanted him to kill Zod.

Bruce rubbed his upper lip thinking. "For now. Write to me when you can and come to me when my army lands." Sir Michael bowed and left the bedchamber. Alfred entered the bedchamber. "Yes, Alfred?"

"I am concerned for you, Master Bruce. The children once again asked for you and once again I had to tell them that you were not to be disturbed. They just lost their mother and now they are losing their father." Alfred said.

"My children are none of your concern!" Bruce said. "And I saw Bruce in council."

"No, you brought the prince to council to learn the art of war and politics. And you have barely spoken to him or to your daughter in weeks. You will not even grant an audience to Sir Richard or young Timothy. They all are concerned for you. I am concerned for you." Alfred said.

"There is no need for any of your concerns! Leave me!" But Alfred remained. "Get out!" Bruce yelled. Alfred bowed and reluctantly left.

* * *

Alfred dressed King Bruce for war: His gray gambeson over his black shirt and then his gray hauberk. His gray leather cuirass was next and then his steel gorget and spaulders bearing engravings of crest of the House of Wayne. His sword belt was fastened around his waist; and lastly, his black fur-trimmed cape. It was near spring but the chill of winter remained.

He stood before the looking glass. He did not quite recognize himself with his new beard and his hair had grown some inches. He turned away from the looking glass and left his bedchamber with Alfred.

Sir Richard Grayson and Sir Jason Blood in their mail and gray leather cuirasses followed him when he walked out the door. They walked through the halls with their spectacle helms under their right arms and their left hands around their sword grips. "God be with you." Servants and nobles alike said as they walked past.

They walked out of the entrance hall and into the courtyard, where 20 some knights were awaiting him on horseback. They bowed as soon as he stepped into the sunlight of high noon. Sir James Gordon and his daughter Lady Barbara, Sir Jonah Hex, Prince Bruce "Al" Wayne, Princess Helena, Damian Wayne, the king's wards Timothy Drake and Jason Todd bowed at the bottom of the steps.

Bruce motioned for his children to come forward. They did. "You as well, Damian." Damian stepped forward. "Listen to Chancellor Fox and Sir Jonah and focus on your studies. And Damian, you are the eldest so watch after your brother and sister." He assumed Damian was expecting not to be acknowledged or given any responsibility since he was illegitimate but he nodded.

"When are you coming home, father?" Helena asked.

"I do not know." Bruce said. He kissed each of his children's foreheads. He ruffled Tim and Jason's hair. "I trust you three to take care of that which is most precious to me." He said to Sir James Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Sir Jonah. Bruce went and mounted his black war stallion. "And I left presents for the children in their bedchambers." But the children still looked somber. "FORWARD!" He commanded and galloped out of the courtyard. The soldiers of the Gotham army proudly wore their mail and gray leather cuirasses. They proudly held their heads up high ready for war. And they proudly marched behind their king.

The children somberly returned to their chambers to see boxes on their beds. The boys had all gotten new daggers but Damian was given a new longbow. Helena was given a crossbow, smaller than normal crossbows and it was made just for her. But they still missed their father.

* * *

3 Years Later

Bruce, Lois, and Diana were the throne room of the Bothgr's castle in Erkol over a map of Urrika. "League of Assassins are camped here. Zod still holds the Morstil keep in Bolenth. Oliver and Peter shall ambush Vertigo's forces here near the ruins of Xan before they can join Ghul. Orin still bombards Morstil but those walls were built to last and he still fights the Aqua navy. Carter and Shiera still lay seize to Thanagar. All these enemy and ally troops and this war seems to be going nowhere." Lois said and rubbed the back of her neck.

"We should concentrate all our might on Ghul. He had has the largest force outside Bolenth. We can finish off Ghul's and Vertigo's forces and then march onto Bolenth." Bruce said.

"Their cannons and catapults are still superior to ours and the forges in Kandor are working day and night as fast as they can to build the same war machines." Lois said.

Then they heard a commotion outside. "Let me pass!" They could hear Oliver yelling. He and Peter burst in the throne room. "Vertigo is gone!"

"What?" Bruce, Diana, and Lois said in unison.

"It is true, my lady." J'onn walked into the chamber and bowed. "Werner Vertigo sails for Star City. The Aqua fleets sails for Atlantis. And Ra's al Ghul sails for Gotham. They all set sail days ago. And Luthor plans to attack the city of Cairo in Egypt."

"Divide and conquer." Bruce hissed.

"Why are Genesis and Themyscira untouched?" Lois asked.

"I know not." J'onn said.

"Well, I do not like it. I am sorry, Lois, but I shall return to Metropolis at once." Peter said.

"And my army shall remain here to aid Krypton." Diana said.

"I hate to leave you like this, Lois." Orin said.

"We all do. But we must defend our own kingdoms. Zod knew this." Bruce said. "We hopes that divided, we shall fall."

"Then let us hope that shall be the fate of his allies." Lois said. "This is not the end. We shall come together once again to crush Zod once and for all. For Kal-El." She never called him Clark anymore and they noticed. She mourned him still; they all mourned him. They all exchanged glances before exiting the throne room.

Bruce hurriedly but carefully packed up his things: maps, some clothes, and his assortment of weapons. He wished to be gone by tomorrow night if possible. There was a knock on the door. "What?" Diana entered his bedchamber wearing her chiton and a fur robe since it was cold. "I do not wish to fight with you tonight, princess. I have much on my mind." Even with her coronation, Bruce still called her princess.

"And that is why I have come. You do not share this burden alone. I lost my mother and the man I loved to Zod. You can only hold in the anger for so long." Diana said.

"What anger?" Bruce asked as he packed.

"If you continue down this path, you will lose everything you hold dear. And a man that loses everything is capable of unspeakable things. I do not wish for that to happen to you." Diana said.

Bruce threw down some books in anger and got up in her face. "What makes you think I am not already capable of doing unspeakable things?" Bruce snapped. He and Diana stared deeply into each other's eyes and could feel each other's breath on one another. For no reasonable explanation, Bruce crushed his lips down on hers. Diana pushed him back and slapped him across the face.

Bruce rubbed his cheek but then Diana crushed her lips on his. They threw their arms around each other in a passionate kiss and Bruce removed her fur robe. Diana pushed him down onto the bed and bolted the door as Bruce removed his shirt. Diana pushed her chiton down her shoulders until it fell down on its own. She climbed on top of Bruce and they kissed passionately.

* * *

6 Years Later

Diana put back on her chiton and Bruce put back on his trousers. His back was to her. Diana wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his bare shoulders. "I thought we said we would stop this." Diana said.

"So did I." Bruce said. They had made love again last night in his bedchamber.

"Then how did this happen again?" Diana asked chuckling.

"We were discussing a night attack on Ghul's siege weapons." Bruce said as he put on his shirt.

"No, you were discussing it. I was not listening because that is a coward's tactic." Diana said softly. Bruce turned around and wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Perhaps to you Amazons but we Gothamites are best in the dark." Bruce said.

"And we argued and ended up back in your bed." Diana said. They both smirked and kissed tenderly. "But now I must see to my other lovers."

Bruce chuckled. Diana pulled away and picked up a pair of gray trousers. She put them on under her chiton. "We have to stop." Bruce said softly.

"We have been trying for months, for years, and here we are. Bruce… " Diana held up his gray gambeson helped him put it on. "…if we cannot stop, then at least we can be careful." Diana said.

Bruce tied up the laces and turned around to face her. "Yes, perhaps. But our children have their suspicions." Bruce said.

"And that is why we will be careful." Diana caressed his face. Bruce grinned at her. "What?" She asked smiling. But before he could say anything, there was the sound of a large explosion and then the alarm of the large bell in the center of the city.

"What in the name of…?" Bruce rushed to a nearby window to see the smoke coming from the city gates.

"Sire…!" Sir Jonah Hex burst into the chamber. "They have breached the gates."

"I want all knights, soldiers, and the city garrison to the gates at once!" Bruce commanded. Sir Jonah rushed out. Bruce went over to the stand bearing his armor. He grabbed his gray hauberk and put it on, and then his gray cuirass. He grabbed his sword belt and put it on, and grabbed a gray kite shield with a large G on it and a gray enameled steel spectacle helm.

"Please be careful." Diana said behind him.

Bruce walked up to her. "Always." He caressed her face. "Get out of the city. I will find you." Diana nodded. They kissed tenderly and then he left.

Later

Bruce blocked an enemy's blow and then quickly swung his falchion, slitting the enemy's throat. The fighting had lasted all day with very little breaks. He cut down another foe. "Sire." He heard someone say weakly. He turned around to see Jason Todd with a dagger in his gut.

Bruce grabbed Jason and pulled his left arm around his neck. "Fall back!" Bruce commanded. Their line was broken and the enemy was claiming street after street. They found their way to the old Wayne Manor, which was being defended with cannons and scorpios. Bruce kicked open the door and entered the old house with Sir Michael, Sir Richard, Prince Al, and Damian.

They set Jason down onto the table in the Great Hall. Sir Michael examined the wound. He looked at Bruce and subtly shook his head. Bruce closed his eyes and removed his helm. "I can still fight." Jason said.

"You are done." Bruce held him down.

"The city…is it lost?" Jason asked weakly.

"Do not think about that… Are with me, Jason?" Bruce said softly.

"To the death." Jason said and Bruce nodded.

"The enemy has fallen back but they shall be back in force." Sir Jason Blood said when he rushed into the manor. Bruce nodded once to him and turned back to Jason Todd, only to see his eyes closed. Bruce drew a dagger and put it just under Jason's nose.

He sighed somberly. "He has no breath." Bruce whispered. Everyone else lowered their heads. Bruce threw his helm and it broke a looking glass. He ran his gloved hands through his hair. "We barely have a garrison left. We cannot hold."

"We can still hold the castle and send for aid." Sir Jason Blood said.

"We cannot hold!" Bruce yelled and there was silence.

"We cannot just abandon the people, father." Prince Al said.

"We have no choice…! The only way we can save the city is for _you_ to go and get aid." Bruce said.

"Me? What about you? I am not going to leave you here!" Prince Al protested.

Bruce put his hands on his son's shoulders. "Ra's wants me alive. That will give you the time you need to build another army. If you can, get Kryptonian and Egyptian aid." He said.

"I cannot do this without you." Prince Al said.

"Yes, you can. One day you will be a king… It now time to start acting like one." Bruce said and his son somberly nodded. "Get your sister and get out of the city. Go." Prince Al nodded and left the Great Hall. "And Damian…" Damian stopped. "Watch over them." Damian nodded once and left with his brother. Bruce looked around to see his fellow knights.

"Knights of Gotham, here is where we make our stand. Our enemy overwhelms us but we do not cower. We do not run. We stand tall. We stand together!" The knights banged their weapons against their shields. "But know that this is not the end. Our prince shall return. The city shall not burn whilst there is one Wayne that still breathes!" A knight handed Bruce his falchion and helm. He put on his helm and then he put his left hand through the straps of his kite shield. "To lead you has been my great honor. Now I plan to kill a great deal of assassins. Who is with me?!" They shouted their war cry and thrust their weapons in the air.

They could hear the cannons and scorpios above them being destroyed. They formed up in the great hall waiting for the enemy. They could hear the shouts and see the doors budging from the enemy rams. The beams blocking the doors would not last long. Bruce and his knights began banging their weapons on their shields.

Then with a great boom, the doors burst open but no enemy forces rushed in. Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, Dusdan al Ghul, and Bane walked into the great hall with Ra's personal guard. The knights were not expecting this but they held their ground. "Hello Bruce." Ra's said. Bruce remained silent. "You and yours have fought bravely. That is why I am asking you to lay down your arms and surrender to me. There can be no victory here for you."

Bruce stepped out of formation and removed his spectacle helm. He and Talia exchanged glances. "What is it that you once told me…? Oh yes. When a man stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind and stab him in the heart. So do you think I will trust you will the lives of my men at arms?" Bruce asked sternly.

"I believe I would not either." Ra's said and Bane whispered something into his ear. "On my daughter, your knights will be spared."

"Sire, do not do this." Sir Michael whispered.

"We need to give Al time and you would never forgive me for missing the final battle. Take the others out the back to the south gate." Bruce said softly. Sir Michael shook his head but Bruce gave him a stern look before turning back to Ra's and them. "If my men are harmed with so much as a cut, then we shall see who stabs who in the heart."

"Understood. I would do the same for any of my men. I always admired your nobility and I do not speak of your station." Ra's said.

"I do not need your compliments." Bruce slowly lowered his falchion and shield to the ground. His men lowered their shields and weapons to the floor as well. Bruce put his hands up and took a few steps forward to his captors. "NOW!" He shouted and threw down a glass vial that filled the room with smoke and the sounds of people coughing. Bruce quickly grabbed his falchion and swung it at Ra's but his blow was blocked by Bane's war hammer. With one swing his falchion was knocked from his hand. He delivered a combination of punches to Bane's body but he could only feel the hauberk underneath his leather cuirass. Bane grabbed Bruce by the shoulders and headbutted him.

Bruce fell back hard. "You fight like a young man. You hold nothing back." Bane said. Bruce uppercut Bane and that made him stumble. Bane swung his war hammer hitting Bruce above his left knee. Bruce fell down to one knee in great pain. "I did not know what would break first: your spirit…" Bane picked up Bruce and held him up high. "…or your body." Bane brought Bruce down hard onto his left knee. Bruce screamed as he felt a great pain in his back. He then dropped Bruce down onto the floor.

They opened windows to clear the room of the smoke. "Find his knights and kill them." Ra's commanded Bane. Bane nodded once and left with his men to hunt them down. Ra's kneeled over Bruce. "You did all that for nothing."

"So _you_ claim." Bruce said weakly.

"Find his children as well but I want them alive." Ra's said.

Prince Al, Princess Helena, Damian, Sir Richard Grayson, and Timothy Drake rode with all haste from the city. Al stopped his horse and looked back to see the flames and hear the screams. Helena was on the horse with him. "I know, brother, but we must flee. But we will return." Al dug his knees into the horse and galloped off.


	2. Star City

**Star City**

Two Years After the Funeral Rites for Kal-El

Oliver and Dinah Queen sat under a canopy in the palace gardens. "So I hear the emerald and red archers were sighted in the city once again." Dinah said.

"Is that so?" Oliver asked. "Look at how it shines." He said softly to his 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, sitting in his lap. He held up a clear crystal to the sunlight and it refracted off different colors (a birthday gift for Olivia from Kal-El and Lois two years ago). Olivia smiled and giggled.

"Yes. They captured that group of thieves that were robbing the taverns and harming the barmaids." Dinah said and Oliver nodded. "There are whispers that these archers serve you and that you sent them."

"Is that good or bad?" Oliver asked.

"Well, the people think less of you being a king of pleasure…somewhat." Dinah said.

"Like this." Sir Roy Harper took aim and shot a target dead center. 15-year-old Prince Connor took aim and his arrow hit the target and parallel to Sir Roy's. They then began shooting their targets at a lightning speed. When they ran out of arrows, two arrows came out of nowhere and split their arrows in the dead center of the target.

They both turned around to see 19-year-old Mia Dearden with a bow. Oliver and Dinah laughed. "I had a good teacher." Mia said and bowed her head to Oliver.

"No, a great teacher!" Oliver said.

"Are we going to talk about her?" Dinah asked.

"What about her?" Oliver asked.

"She came of age two years ago. We said we would tell her when…" Dinah said.

"I know." He lifted Olivia off his lap and put her down. "Good play with your brother." He kissed her cheek and Olivia ran to her brother. "She knows Sir Edward Dearden to be her father. She has some good memories of him and I do not want to rob them from her." Oliver said.

"At least give her the letter her mother wrote her. And if Lutessa told her the truth, we will handle it." Dinah said and took his hand.

Sir Roy and Mia were talking and smiling. He said something and Mia laughed. "I wonder what they are talking about." Oliver said.

"Ollie, they are friends and nothing more. Leave them be. And you know he is married." Dinah said. She stood, kissed his right temple, and walked up to her children. Oliver stroked his goatee as he watched them. Sir John Diggle then ran up to Oliver and bowed, panting. "Sir John, what is your hurry?"

"Vertigo's army landed in Krypton to aid Zod's. King Bruce has written." He handed him a letter. Oliver peeled off the seal and quickly read the short letter.

"Page!" A young boy ran up. "Send for my war council at once." Oliver said. The page ran off. Dinah walked up to them.

"What has happened?" Dinah asked.

"A large army has sailed to Krypton to aid Zod; Vertigo's forces among them." Oliver said and handed her the letter. Dinah's eyes widened as she reached the end of the letter. "Sir Roy!" Oliver motioned for him to come. Sir Roy gave his bow to his squire and ran up to Oliver. He bowed his head. Oliver walked away with Sir John and Sir Roy.

* * *

One Year Later

"Let us pass!" Oliver yelled. He and Peter burst in the throne room of the Bothgr castle in the city of Erkol. "Vertigo is gone!"

"What?" Bruce, Diana, and Lois said in unison.

"It is true, my lady." J'onn walked into the chamber and bowed. "Werner Vertigo sails for Star City. The Aqua fleets sails for Atlantis. And Ra's al Ghul sails for Gotham. They all set sail days ago. And Luthor plans to attack the city of Cairo in Egypt."

"Divide and conquer." Bruce hissed.

"Why are Genesis and Themyscira untouched?" Lois asked.

"I know not." J'onn said.

"Well, I do not like it. I am sorry, Lois, but I shall return to Metropolis at once." Peter said.

"And my army shall remain here to aid Krypton." Diana said.

"I hate to leave you like this, Lois." Orin said.

"We all do. But we must defend our own kingdoms. Zod knew this." Bruce said. "He hopes that divided, we shall fall."

"Then let us hope that shall be the fate of his allies." Lois said. "This is not the end. We shall come together once again to crush Zod once and for all. For Kal-El." They all exchanged glances before exiting the throne room.

* * *

5 Years Later

Oliver cleaned a long cut on Dinah's left leg. "It is nothing." Dinah said and winced.

"But it shall become something if it is not cleaned. Even cuts become infected." Oliver said. He put some herbs on a piece of cloth and wrapped up the leg. "All better." He kissed her knee and she grinned down at him.

"Your Grace! People are coming to sack the palace. A rumor spread that you have fled the city." Sir Roy said. Oliver quietly growled, jumped up, grabbed his bow and ran out of the chamber.

Cannons and archers were readied to fire upon the people after they got past the iron gates. "STOP THIS MADNESS IN THE NAME OF YOUR KING!" The people gasped when they saw Oliver on the steps. He wore a black hauberk and chausses, a green leather cuirass, black trousers, a sword belt for his dual short swords, an empty quiver on his back and archer vambraces. Prince Connor appeared beside him dressed in a similar manner.

"You have brought ruin upon us!" Someone yelled from the angry mob and the people shouted their agreement.

"I know many of you believe me to be a king of pleasure, who does whatever he wants and when he wants, and does not care for any of you. Many years ago I trusted the affairs of this small kingdom to one man. A man who would go on to betray me: Count Werner Vertigo. Because of him I was marooned on an island for two years. And that island changed me in so many ways. I alone had to find food, make shelter, and survive storms and winters before that merchant ship found me. And when I returned, I found my city to be corrupt, dying and full of decadence… So I created the emerald archer to save this city from the corrupt and once again make it the utopia I once thought it was. It may not be a utopia today but things are far better now than they were under Vertigo's reign."

"So tell me this. Do my knights protect you and torment you? Do my taxes rob you of all you possess? Do we have enough food to feed all our children?" Their silence was an answer enough. "I may be no saint but I am no tyrant like Vertigo." Dinah appeared beside him and people were shocked to see her in the black leather cuirass of the Black Canary.

Oliver caressed her cheek and turned his attention back onto the people. "Vertigo's army is at our city walls and I shall not lie. We cannot hold them back. I ask you all to please calmly return to your homes and pack only what you can carry. Knights will lead you into the tunnels that lead into the mountains. But please hurry. If the city is breached, the tunnels shall be sealed. Now go!"

The people calmly left and returned to their homes. "Well said, my love." Dinah said.

"Now the hard part." Oliver descended the steps and a squire presented him his war stallion. Prince Connor, Sir Roy, and Queen Dinah mounted their war stallions as well. "Men-at-arms and those capable of bearing them report to the wall!" He dug his knees into his horse and rode out to the city walls.

Sunset, The Next Day

Dinah's arms were around Oliver and Connor's shoulders as they carried her back into the Star Palace. The stab wound in her side was bleeding profusely and she had grown pale. The entrance hall doors were closed behind them and barricaded. They entered the throne room, which had been turned into a makeshift infirmary. "Have the women and children escaped to the mountains?" Oliver asked.

"Not all. The tunnels have been sealed, father." Olivia said. She wore brown trousers, a green leather cuirass, and a belt for her dual short swords. Her quiver was full because her father wanted the 14-year old princess nowhere near the battle.

Oliver's bow was gone and he had only one of his swords; he had used the other to stab Captain Constantine Drakon, who had stabbed Dinah. They lay Dinah on a cot and he caressed her face. "Ollie." Dinah said weakly and took his hand.

"All will be well. I will be right back." Oliver said and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Mia ran up to them matching Olivia in clothing & armor with a longbow. She had only a dozen or so arrows left in her quiver. "They will be at palace gates soon. And with their cannons, the gates will not hold for long." She looked around. "Where is Sir Roy?" Mia asked.

"I do not know. He went back for his wife and daughter." Oliver said.

"If we cannot hold the palace, then we need to get out the city through a tunnel that has not been sealed." Connor said.

"I will be damned if I let Vertigo sit on that throne!" Oliver yelled and pointed to the thrones on the dias. "Sir John!" Sir John Diggle ran up to him. His left hand was bandaged up and he had a cut over his right eye, and his green leather cuirass was bloodstained. "Get what men we have left through the tunnels and I need my knights to help me with something of grave importance."

All the barrels filled with black powder for the cannons and flaming bombardments were brought into the throne room. They were arranged so if one blew, then the rest would blow one by one. Olivia went to check on her mother and then she gasped. "Father!"

Oliver ran to her and kneeled beside Dinah. Her eyes were open and her mouth ajar. She was so pale and cold to the touch. Oliver rested his forehead against her cool one and closed her eyes. "Farewell, my love." He whispered.

"Everything is ready, Sire." Sir John said. Oliver stood and walked towards the dias. He went up to one of the tapestries bearing his family crest and tore it down. He pushed in a stone and a secret door opened.

"Take this tunnel out of the palace. It will lead into another tunnel to the mountains. Once these barrels blow, they will not be able to follow you through this tunnel. It will buy you some time." Oliver said softly to Sir John.

"What about you, Oliver?" Sir John asked. Oliver put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "No. I will stay. You must flee."

"Protect my children, John." Oliver said. A small explosion rattled the windows and shook the walls.

"They have broken through!" Someone yelled outside the throne room.

"In the tunnels now!" Oliver cried. Soldiers ran into the tunnel. Then two knights then barged into the throne room carrying a wounded Prince Connor as knights, archers, and soldiers ran into the tunnels. "Connor!" Oliver cried and ran to them. There was a large gash on the right side of his head. His blond hair was stained with blood.

"Drakon still drew breath. He did this but he is now dead, Sire."

"Come." Oliver said. He led them to the secret passage. "Go!" The knights went in with Connor. Sir John, Mia, and Olivia went in. Oliver pressed in another stone and the door began to close.

Olivia heard stone scraping the floor and turned around. "Father?" She saw the door closing. "Father!" Olivia cried and ran back to the closing door.

"Survive." Oliver said and the door closed. Olivia slammed her fists on the wall but then Sir John wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her away.

Oliver sighed. He could hear fighting outside. He went and picked up Dinah's body. He took her and set her down on her throne. He kissed her forehead. He grabbed a longbow and one arrow. He would only need one. He dipped the arrowhead in some oil, walked back to his throne, and sat down and waited. "This is it, my love. And I know. I wish I had a better plan as well." He said softly.

The sounds of battle soon became quiet and he could hear running; that is when he lit the arrowhead. Then the throne room doors banged open and entered Count Werner Vertigo with 50 or so men. He walked up to the dias with a smug look on his face. He held a sword in his hand but there was not a single drop of blood on the blade or him. His polished gold cuirass was ornate with his insignia. And he wore a fine green cape.

"Your Grace… Oh." He said when he saw Dinah's lifeless body. "Is this a new fashion?"

"Vertigo." Oliver said scornfully.

Vertigo cut his eyes to the flaming arrow and then back to Oliver. "And just what do you plan to do with that?" Vertigo asked chuckling.

"I was thinking about killing you." Oliver said.

Vertigo laughed. "Well then… I am ready for you. But just know the city is mine and you have lost." Vertigo said and held up his hands making himself an easy target.

Oliver stood and took aim at Vertigo's heart. Vertigo's archers stood ready to shoot him. "No. Burn with me." Oliver then quickly switched his aim to the nearest barrel.

Vertigo saw the barrels around the room. "Kill him!" Every archer fired but their arrows hit Oliver too late. He had released the arrow from the bowstring. He groaned as the first arrow hit him in the chest and he fell back onto his throne. More arrows hit him and the last thing he saw was his own arrow hitting one of the barrels.

Mia, Olivia, Sir John, and the other knights were knocked to the ground by a massive explosion. They stood and they all knew their king was dead. "We have to keep moving." Sir John said but Olivia was frozen, staring at the direction of the palace. John took her arm. "We have to go."

On the mountain pass, they could see half the city burning along with half of the Star Palace. Olivia stared at the destruction. "Olivia, we have to go. Connor needs a physician. We cannot help him here." Mia said. Olivia somberly nodded and they lightly ran up the path.

Olivia then bumped into someone. Mia quickly turned around and quickly fired a shot from her bow. The person used his bow to deflect the arrow. "Mia." The person said weakly.

"Roy!" Mia ran to him. His right hand was gone and the stump that remained was wrapped up in a cloak. "Your hand… Where is your family?"

"Dead. They are dead." Sir Roy Harper said, obviously in shock.

"Olivia, help me." Mia said. Olivia put his wounded arm around her shoulder and Mia did the same with his left. They left to catch up with the others.


	3. Themyscira

**Themyscira**

Lois walked on the beach a little after noon barefoot. She loved feeling the sand between her toes. Someone would wash her feet later. She stopped and closed her eyes as a cool breeze caressed her skin and blew her hair back. She caressed the silver locket around her neck. "You should be resting."

Lois opened her eyes and grinned at Diana. "I was growing restless. And I have always taken walks whenever I was with child…but Clark was always with me." Lois said and sighed.

"I miss him as well." Diana said. "He was a true friend, a brother in arms. He taught me there was more to life than war." They looked over their shoulders to see nine-year-old Princess Hippolyta riding her colt further down the beach. Diana grinned at her daughter. Lois and Diana began walking. A small group of the royal guard walked some steps behind them to give them some privacy. "Durkin's accusations against you are cruel and unjust. Just ask and I can take care of him." Diana said.

"No. He had just cause to make such a claim. He knew we had not shared a bed in months but not that we had begun to again. I would have made the same claim if it were any other woman but I will soon be proven innocent. Right, my darling?" Lois caressed her round stomach. She felt her unborn child kick. "And he agrees with me." Lois said.

"He? So it is a boy, then?" Diana asked.

"The Council wishes it to be a boy and I believe all of Krypton does as well. But another girl will do as well." Lois said.

"Well, women tend to be far more wiser than men." They chuckled. "The League shall come to your defense if the Council plots against you after the child is born." Diana said.

"Thank you but no. Clark would want no violence, especially with his friends and his people on opposite sides. All shall reveal itself in due cour…" Lois gasped and sighed deeply. She rubbed her belly.

"Is something the matter?" Diana asked. Lois leaned on her for support.

"I think it is time!" Lois gasped.

"Fetch the wagon!" Diana commanded. Some Amazons ran back for the wagon not far from here. Lois sighed and took a deep breath. "Reveal itself in due course?" She asked jokingly.

"He is as impatient as his father." Lois said. The Amazons then returned with the wagon. It took five of them to lift Lois onto the wagon. She took deep breaths. She had done this twice before but she never was truly prepared for this.

Lois screamed as another labor pain afflicted her and she squeezed Diana's hand. "Your Majesty must push!" The midwife said.

"I AM!" Lois yelled and clenched her mouth shut to muffle another scream. She pushed again and a baby's cry filled the chamber. Lois's head fell back on the pillows breathing heavily.

"A boy!"

Diana chuckled. "A son. You have your son, Lois!" Diana said. The baby boy was taken over to water basin and he wailed as they began cleaning him. _Clark, you have a son._ Lois thought as she stared at the ornate ceiling. Lois screamed when she felt another sharp pain. "What is it?" The midwife put a hand on Lois's swollen belly. "What is the matter?" Diana asked.

The midwife then shushed Diana. She felt up and down Lois's stomach. "I believe there to be another child."

"WHAT?!" Diana and Lois exclaimed in unison.

"You may be royals but I know affairs such as this. She is carrying twins." Lois yelled out in pain again. "And this one shall be here soon." The midwife said. "I need more blankets and another water basin!" Some minutes later, another baby's cry filled the chamber. "A girl!"

"Another daughter, Lois. The gods blessed you with yours and Krypton's wish." Diana said.

"If Clark were here, I would kill him for this." Lois said out of breath. She laid her head back against the pillows and took in deep breaths as someone dabbed her forehead with a damp cloth. She opened her eyes and looked over at her children: The boy had follicles of black hair and the girl blond follicles. She could not see their eyes yet but all of the House of El were born with blue eyes. Lois always got lost in Kal-El's blue eyes. She grinned at her twins and then suddenly, she could not stop the tears from coming. "I am alone. He is gone!"

Diana held her as she cried. "It is alright." Diana stroked her hair. "Everything is going to be alright."

* * *

Lois sat up in bed staring down at the portrait of Clark inside the silver locket. She heard the door open. "Looking at that every day shall only bring you more pain." Queen Hippolyta said. Lois looked up.

"Not long before he died, we spoke of having more children. I just never imagined doing this without him. He always had this…skill for surviving even the most bloodiest of battles, the deadliest assassins, and the unending game of politics." Lois said.

Hippolyta sat down in the chair at her bedside. "Yes, he did. My personal guard almost slew him once, many years ago, but he survived long enough for Diana to come to his aid. I remember thinking he looked so much like his father but only with black hair. He was a good man, a great king." Hippolyta said.

"I miss him so much. I never wanted to live without him." Lois said somberly.

"I too was in love once…with Diana's father. It is against our customs to fall in love with the men we choose to sire daughters with but I did. And like my daughter has with this Steven Trevor but he is a far better man than her father. It broke my heart to learn that he was already married. I forsake all men after that but there are days when I still think about him. And I shall always be forever thankful for the child he gave me." Hippolyta said.

"I just wish I had more time with him." Lois said.

"Be thankful for the time you did have together. Many cannot boast of such a claim. And I am sorry to say that the gods work in mysterious ways. We can never truly understand their intentions for every joyful and cruel act. But all that has happened was meant to happen. And all shall be revealed in time. We cannot escape our destinies." Hippolyta said and Lois quietly chuckled. "What?"

"Clark said that to me on the hard days of being king. We cannot escape our destinies… He said that it was our destiny to find and love each other until the end of our days." Lois closed the locket. "But I do not care about destiny. I just want my husband back." Lois said.

"In the end, we all find a way back to our loved ones." Hippolyta said. They could hear one of the babies cooing. "Have you named them yet?"

"Yes. The boy is Jor-El. And the girl is Lara." Lois said.

"They are fine names." Hippolyta said.

"When I was carrying little Kara, we swore we would not name any of our children after ourselves, no matter what happens. It was tempting to name him after his father but I kept my promise." Lois said and glanced over at the two cradles to her right. "It breaks my heart knowing that my son and daughter will never know their father."

"They will, through us, the people that knew him best. It will not be the same but we can only hope that it will be enough for them. And we can only hope to one day say that Jor-El, the third of his name, is his father's son." Hippolyta said.

"Thank you, Hippolyta." Lois said. "You said what I needed to hear." They grinned at each other. Then they heard two low bellows from the large horn at the peak of the island. "What is that?"

"Intruder!" Hippolyta drew her sword. Lois reached under her pillow for her dagger. "No, you are not strong enough. My personal guard shall be here shortly." The door opened and single Amazon entered the chamber. "Who are you? I do not know you." Hippolyta raised her sword when she saw the crudely made sword in the 'Amazon's' hand. "ASSASSIN!"

The assassin charged Hippolyta. Their swords locked. Hippolyta pushed back the assassin and kicked her abdomen. The assassin fell back and quickly dodged Hippolya's thrust. Hippolyta kicked the sword out of her hand and thrust her sword into the assassin's gut. Lois saw Hippolyta's body stiffen. "Hippolyta?" Hippolyta let go of her sword and turned around. A dagger was thrust up into her chest. Hippolyta dropped down to her knees groaning and fell back. Though weak, Lois climbed out of the bed. Lois used the bed for support and collapsed down to all fours when she reached its end. She crawled to Hippolyta.

Lois placed Hippolyta's head in her lap. Her breath was shallow and she turning pale. Lois put her left hand around the hilt and Hippolyta nodded once. Hippolyta groaned as she removed the dagger from her chest. Lois ripped out the sleeve of her underdress and put pressure down onto the wound. "Mother!" Diana called and ran into the chamber. "Get the physician!" Diana rushed to them. "Mother."

"Diana… Diana." Hippolyta said weakly.

"Yes, I am here." Diana said and took her mother's hand.

"My daughter…" Hippolyta said and grinned at her. Diana grinned back even with the tears in her eyes. Then her grin faded and her eyes were frozen.

"Mother…? Mother! No!" Diana still held her mother's hand and wept. The royal guard rushed into the chamber with the physician but Diana's wails signaled that they were too late. The Amazons removed their helms and put on somber faces. The only sounds that filled the halls were the sounds of Diana's and the twins crying.

* * *

Queen Hippolyta lay atop a funeral pyre in a long violet chiton. In one hand was an olive branch and the other was her sword. Two gold coins were placed over eyes. Amazons were gathered in a large, grouped circle in their white chitons and golden cuirasses. Diana wore a long dark red chiton. Her daughter, Princess Hippolyta, wore a violet chiton.

Artemis handed Diana a torch. Diana slowly walked up to the funeral pyre. Oil had been poured on her mother's body. Diana put two fingers to her lips and then placed them on her mother's lips. Then she lit the pyre, starting from the feet up to her head. The Amazons held their heads high as they watched their queen burn.

Diana turned to face them all. "On this day, my mother burns. And she was not just a mother to me but to us all. But what truly matters is that two of our Amazonian sisters are dead. We are all bound by sisterhood and we cannot let this treachery stand! Prepare yourselves, sisters. We have ignored our skills for far too long. When Queen Lois is able, we sail for Krypton. We sail…FOR WAR!"

The Amazons' war cries echoed throughout the island. Lois could hear them. She stood looking out the window at the pillar of smoke. "Oh Clark…if only you were here to stop this madness."

7 Years Later

Diana and Lois were looking over a map of Krypton. "We can lead the Zoners away leaving the convoy unprotected." Diana said.

"But is the real convoy or one of the decoys that are traps?" Lois asked. "We shall know more when J'onn returns."

"My queen!" Commander Cam-Zel ran into the Great Hall. "Star City has fallen!"

"Hera! King Oliver? Queen Dinah?" Diana asked.

"Dead. Their children and ward escaped with half the people. And Vertigo is dead. King Oliver remained behind to kill him. Now Zod has sent a battalion to claim Star City for himself." Commander Cam-Zel said.

"Where are their children?" Lois asked.

"Hiding in the mountains. They make way for Gotham." Cam-Zel said.

"Diana…" Lois said.

"I leave for Gotham at once." Diana said.

"There is no need. I shall send a falcon to the city." Cam-Zel said.

"Cam-Zel, leave us." Lois said. He bowed and left the Great Hall. "How long since you have seen him?"

"Near a year." Diana said. She put on a chlamys over her golden cuirass. "And Bruce could use some aid against Ra's al Ghul's siege of the city. I do not wish to abandon you but…"

"Yes. He is in greater need than us. We shall manage." Lois said.

"Are you sure?" Diana asked.

"Go. I shall send Chris if we are in need of you." Lois said. Diana and her gripped forearms and then embraced.

"I shall be back, my friend." Diana said.

"I know." Lois said.

The next morning, Diana mounted her stallion and rode out of Smallville with her troops heading for the ports at Granville, where their armada was docked. Lois watched them leave from the town gates. Some people had gathered below and had scared looks on their faces. "The Amazons shall return. Our ally, Gotham, is in great need of them. If we are to defeat Zod and one day return home, then we shall need as many allies as we can get." Lois said. She descended the stairs.

* * *

3 Months Later

They moaned loudly and Bruce rolled off top of Diana. They both were breathing heavily. "What were we speaking of again?" Bruce asked panting.

"It does not matter." Diana said and they chuckled. She lay on her right side and ran her hand up his torso. She then straddled him and kissed both his sweaty pecs. War had kept them both very fit. "We should focus on their left flank so we can surprise them from the rear."

"A fine plan…that shall be the most effective at night." Bruce said rubbing her thighs.

Diana sighed frustrated and rolled her eyes. "A coward's tactic!" Diana said.

"But with a greater chance of success." Bruce said.

"No." Diana said.

"No? No!" Bruce said playfully. He rolled them so he was top and she was giggling. He kissed her and they passionately made love again.

Diana put back on her chiton and Bruce put back on his trousers. His back was to her. Diana wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his bare shoulders. "I thought we said we would stop this." Diana said.

"So did I." Bruce said. They had made love again last night in his bedchamber.

"Then how did this happen again?" Diana asked chuckling.

"We were discussing a night attack on Ghul's siege weapons." Bruce said as he put on his shirt.

"No, you were discussing it. I was not listening because that is a coward's tactic." Diana said softly. Bruce turned around and wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Perhaps to you Amazons but we Gothamites are best in the dark." Bruce said.

"And we argued and ended up back in your bed." Diana said. They both smirked and kissed tenderly. "But now I must see to my other lovers."

Bruce chuckled. Diana pulled away and picked up a pair of gray trousers. She put them on under her chiton. "We have to stop." Bruce said softly.

"We have been trying for months, for years, and here we are. Bruce… " Diana held up his gray gambeson helped him put it on. "…if we cannot stop, then at least we can be careful." Diana said.

Bruce tied up the laces and turned around to face her. "Yes, perhaps. But our children have their suspicions." Bruce said.

"And that is why we will be careful." Diana caressed his face. Bruce grinned at her. "What?" She asked smiling. But before he could say anything, there was the sound of a large explosion and then the alarm of the large bell in the center of the city.

"What in the name of…?" Bruce rushed to a nearby window to see the smoke coming from the city gates.

"Sire…!" Sir Jonah Hex burst into the chamber. "They have breached the gates."

"I want all knights, soldiers, and the city garrison to the gates at once!" Bruce commanded. Sir Jonah rushed out. Bruce went over to the stand bearing his armor. He grabbed his gray hauberk and put it on, and then his gray cuirass. He grabbed his sword belt and put it on, and grabbed a gray kite shield with a large G on it and a gray enameled steel spectacle helm.

"Please be careful." Diana said behind him.

Bruce walked up to her. "Always." He caressed her face. "Get out of the city. I will find you." Diana nodded. They kissed tenderly and then he left.

Hours later, Diana bit down on a belt as her wound on her right shoulder was cauterized. She yelled out of pain but she remained still. "What of the Gotham Army?"

"They are in full retreat, my queen. A handful of knights escaped." An Amazon said. "What do you command?"

"Let us find those knights. King Bruce may be among them." Diana groaned as her wound was bandaged up.

"BRUCE! BRUCE!" Diana called as she and a group of Amazons rode through the Gotham woods.

"HERE!" Someone called and they halted before a dark figure. "We are here! Come quickly!" The Amazons dismounted and followed the man into the woods leading their frightened horses into the dark trees.

"My prince, it is Queen Diana." Sir Jonah said. Prince Al stood.

"Where is Bruce?" Al could not look her in the eye. "Is he dead?" Diana asked plainly but Al could see the pain in her eyes.

"We do not know. He told me Ra's would want him alive and he told me, told us to run." Al said.

"Are you coward?! You left him!" Diana yelled.

"My father commanded me to run AND SO I RAN! I GOT HELENA AND WE RAN!" Al was panting and they glared at each other. "My father told me to raise another army and come back for him. Now…other soldiers have escaped the city. We need to find them. You can help me or you can leave Gotham."

Diana took a deep breath. "I shall help you."

"Thank you… And the last thing I am is a coward. I am Bruce Wayne's son after all." Al said and began walking away. "Even if Damian is more of a son to him than I am." He whispered the latter but Diana heard him.

"If he did not love you, he would not have told you to run." Diana said and Al halted for a second but then continued walking.


	4. Egypt

**Egypt**

Nearly 2 Years After the Funeral Rites for Kal-El

Cannons and catapults began firing upon the city walls at daybreak. Carter and Shiera slept peacefully in each other's arms and stirred when the bombardments began. "Good morrow." Carter whispered.

"I would not say good but hello." Shiera said and pecked his lips. Carter and Shiera grinned at each other. Then the camp was rocked by a series of explosions. They both immediately shot up.

"In the name of…!" Carter threw back the covers and ran out of the pavilions in only his white linen breeches. He grabbed his mace while he running out. Several ships were docked in the river shooting cannons at an alarming swiftness and from the city walls as well.

"My lord!" A soldier shouted and threw him a lens and tube. He looked through it and saw cannons. But these cannons were far different from their own. They now had three barrels, one barrel firing right after the other and soldiers reloading them as they rotated.

"Gods be merciful." Carter said. "WE CANNOT HOLD FOR LONG AGAINST THESE NEW CANNONS! WE NEED TO FALL BACK!" He yelled over the explosions. "FALL BACK! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THEIR RANGE!" Carter ran back into the pavilion. "We have to go." He said to Shiera.

He threw on a white linen shirt and boots, and grabbed his bronze cuirass. Shiera threw on some trousers and boots, and grabbed her bronze cuirass and mace. They ran out of the pavilion. They mounted their war stallions, who were trying to escape but they had been securely tied up. They dug their knees into the stallions and took off. "FALL BACK!"

Some miles away, soldiers and physicians tended to the wounded. Sentries kept an eye out of enemy troops coming to finish them off. Carter and Shiera walked leading their horses looking at their broken army. "That was no battle but a slaughter." Shiera said.

"Yes." Carter said. "I shall write to the League at once. They must be told of Luthor's new cannons."

"How do we know that Zod has not acquired these cannons as well?" Shiera asked.

"There is no way of knowing without hearing from Krypton. We cannot stay here for long. As soon as they are able, we march for Egypt at daybreak." Carter said.

"Retreat?" Shiera asked. "The men will not like this. They will want retaliation."

"And they shall have it when I am certain of victory, not slaughter. And you will ride back to Egypt and prepare for our arrival. Write to the League and send for our war council and for the Atlantean ambassador." He stopped walking and mounted his war stallion before she could protest.

He rode up to General Amon Tomaz. "Amon…" The general bowed. "You ride back to Cairo with the queen. Protect her." Tomaz bowed again.

The Hall of Justice, Some Weeks Later

"It was no battle but a slaughter. Who knows what else Luthor is building shut up behind the city walls." Carter said.

"Orin, did your engineers make any plans such as this?" Bruce asked.

"A cannon but with three barrels, no. Luthor has perfected our designs once again. I loathe Alexander Luthor." Orin said.

"Then what shall we do?" Peter asked.

"We need to get one of the cannons or the designs. Sir Richard, Sir Michael, see to this." Bruce said. The two knights bowed and left the meeting hall. "I shall take care of this myself."

"Something does not feel right about of all this. I just do not know what yet." Lois said. "We need to be prepared."

"We all must be on our guard." Diana said. "And perhaps now we should focus all our might on Zod."

"Perhaps. But first let us see what comes to pass so we are not caught off guard again." Bruce said.

"Agreed. I would not mind losing some battles as long as we win the war in the end. What say the rest of you?" Carter asked.

"Agreed." They one by one said.

* * *

7 Years Later

"THEY WHAT?!" Shiera screamed.

"They were married last night." Carter said.

Carter sat calmly in their chamber as Shiera angrily paced back and forth. "How could he do this? Is he mad?" Shiera cried.

"She is with child. He did not wish his first born to be a bastard. He wishes the child to be his heir. And he says he loves her." Carter said.

"Oh and that makes everything better. Has Diana been told?" Carter said nothing. "She has not been told! HECTOR!" Shiera called.

Prince Hector entered the chamber and stood erect with his hands behind his back. He wore a knee-length linen tunic over his shendyt. The belt around his waist held a scabbard for his sword. Shiera had her hands on her hips and fury in her eyes. "Father has told you." He said plainly.

"WHAT ELSE COULD HE HAVE TOLD ME?!" Shiera yelled but Hector remained firm. "Holding your ground will not spare you from my fury. You did not bother to ask us, nor her mother for permission to marry her. Can you imagine the fury that shall come from the Amazons? AMAZONS DO NOT MARRY! They mate, they have their daughters, and they give their sons to the sea."

"Lyta will not do that to our child. What sons we have I shall care for and our daughters shall be given to the Amazons. We thought this through before we exchanged vows." Hector said and Shiera scoffed.

"What sons you have, _I_ shall end up caring for. And who knows if the people shall even accept this union. Your wife cannot be your queen and the queen of the Amazons as well! We shall send for the High Priest and he can put an end to this union before word gets out. And Hippolyta can return to Themyscira and have the child there." Shiera said.

"It is my child, mother! It is of our blood! If it is a boy…!" Hector protested.

"I know what they will do…! I love you with all my heart but this union cannot be, my son. You will find someone else." Shiera said.

"No… I will not. Hippolyta is my wife and she is carrying my child. She will be my queen until it is her time to rule the Amazons. Then she shall be my queen in name only… And just tell me this. What would father have done if this were you?" Hector asked.

"That is not fair. Your father and I were promised to each other at birth." Shiera said.

"And yet you love him and he loves you. All I want is to be with the woman I love, mother. I am not asking for much." Hector said.

Carter stood and went to stand next to Shiera. "Leave us. Your mother and I need to speak." Carter said. Hector bowed and left their chamber. "Perhaps we can use this union to our advantage."

"What?! This union cannot be! I know Diana is nowhere near death but Hippolyta shall be the next queen of the Amazons. And Hector shall be left alone to bring up their sons. Even sons need a mother. And I shall not be here forever." Shiera said.

"I know." Carter put his hands on her shoulders. "Let us just wait for a reply from Diana and we will figure this out, my love." He caressed her face.

"Very well but Diana may not…" Shiera gasped and her eyes widened.

"Shiera?" Carter asked. Blood seeped out of the corner of her mouth. She collapsed into his arms and he saw the arrow in her back. "GUARDS!" He yelled and gently lowered Shiera to the floor as his guards rushed into their chamber. "Get the physician and find the archer!" He yelled and some ran out of the chamber. He scooped her up and took her to the bed.

Prince Hector was walking back to his chambers when the guards ran passed him. "What is the matter?" He knew something was wrong. He turned around and ran back to his parents' chambers.

Shiera's breathing was labored as she lay on her side so not to push the arrow in deeper. "Hold on. The physician is coming, my love. Just stay with me." Carter said. She tightly held onto his hand.

Hector then rushed into the chamber. "Mother?" The guards blocked him with spears but then let him pass when they saw it was their prince. "Mother!" Hector rushed to her and knelt at her bedside with Carter.

Shiera gasped for air. "Where is the physician?!" Carter cried.

"Carter…" Shiera said weakly. "Hector. Hector, my son. Does she make you happy?"

"What…? Yes. Yes, she does. But that does not matter right now, mother." Hector said.

"It matters to me. I need to know that you will be alright; that you will be happy." Shiera coughed up some blood. "Carter. Carter, my love."

"Save your strength. The physician is coming." Carter said. Shiera just looked at him with a small grin on her face. She caressed the skin of his hand with her thumb. Despite the tears in his eyes, he grinned somberly at her. "Please do not leave me."

"You shall see me again… I love you." Shiera said softly.

"I love you." Shiera stared blankly at him. "Shiera?" Her hand was now limp in his hand. His buried his face in the sheets and cried. The guards in the background somberly bowed their heads.

"My king, Luthor's army approaches the city walls!" A guard ran in yelling. He knelt at once and lowered his head when he saw his fallen queen.

Carter raised his head; his eyes filled with fury and his face full of rage. "I want every soldier and every man of age capable of bearing arms to the wall at once! Prepare of war machines for battle!" Carter stood and pulled a somber Hector to his feet. "Luthor is to blame for this. To your chamber and dress for battle." He commanded his son sternly. Carter's hands were still wet with Shiera's blood, which transferred onto Hector's shoulders.

He walked to the stand holding his armor. Shiera's armor was next to his. He pulled off his gold collar around his neck and tossed it aside. He took off his shendyt and put on some white linen breeches and then a sleeveless linen shirt. He then put on his bronze cuirass and his bronze vambraces. He put on a gauntlet with claws for fingers on his left hand.

"My king…the assassin." A man was forced into the chamber in shackles by two guards. The two guards had fresh cuts and bruises on their bodies so the assassin had put up quite a struggle before taken captive. Carter recognized him.

"Floyd Lawton…" Carter approached him. The guards forced Lawton down onto his knees. "Look at what you have done!" Shiera still lay on the bed; her eyes open, her skin pale and blood stained the white sheets of the bed.

Lawton glanced at her nonchalantly and then back to Carter, and sucked his teeth. "I was aiming for you but she got in the way, Your Highness." Lawton smirked.

Carter then backhanded him with his gloved left hand. Lawton fell over and spit out blood. Carter grabbed him by the collar of his linen shirt and dragged him to the bed. He took hold of his head and made him look at Shiera's cold, lifeless body.

"She shall be the last thing you every lay eyes upon, assassin." Carter hissed. Lawton did not make a sound when Carter dug the talons of his gauntlet into the base of his skull. He pulled the talons out and Lawton fell over dead. Carter did not care about the blood dripping off his gauntlet onto the floor. Carter walked over to his wall of weapons and removed a khopesh from its mount. He walked back to Lawton's body and pulled him up by his hair.

In two powerful swings, he took off Lawton's head. The guards remained expressionless. "Clean up this mess." Carter commanded. Each guard took hold of Lawton's arms and dragged out the headless body.

"Father, Luthor is nearly upon…us." Hector entered as they dragged out the headless body. He was dressed in a bronze cuirass identical to that of his father's.

"Hang the body from the wall when I give the command. And have this flung from a catapult at Luthor when I give the command as well." Carter said to another guard. The guard put the head in a red sack, bowed, and left the chamber.

"Father, this is madness!" Hector said.

"Silence…! The guilty must be judged accordingly to their crime whether they be high born or low. That is something you must learn in the coming days ahead." Carter said. He walked over to Shiera's body. He caressed her cheek with the back of his right hand.

Carter took hold of the arrow and pulled it out, and tossed it aside. He lay Shiera on her back. He straightened her legs and folded her arms over her chest. He closed her eyes and then leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Until we meet again in the next life, my love." Carter whispered and then put the bloodied sheet over her body.

Carter walked back over to his wall of weapons. He put two long daggers on his belt and grabbed his mace. Last, he grabbed his hawk's head half helm. "Come." He said to Hector and left the chamber. Hector looked back once more at his mother's body and then followed his father.

Carter and Hector appeared at the top of the palace steps. Carter's personal guard kneeled as they descended the steps. Carter put on his helm before he mounted his war stallion and Hector mounted his. The guards mounted their stallions. "How is the queen?" The captain of his guard asked.

"The queen is dead." Carter said bluntly. Hector looked up and saw Hippolyta standing on the balcony of his chambers. Carter slapped the back of his head. "Focus on the battle to come!" He said sternly. He dug his knees into his stallion and rode off for the wall.

Soldiers in formation at the gates knelt as soon as they saw the king's banners. Carter motioned for his personal guard to halt and they did. Carter and them dismounted and climbed the steps to the top of the wall. General Amon Tomaz bowed. "A messenger bears a banner of truce." He said. He pointed to the rider in the middle of the field.

"He probably has come to hear the terms of our surrender." Carter said and then scoffed. "Where is Luthor?"

"Commanding the army from the rear as always." Tomaz said. "The men heard and wish to know of the queen."

Carter sighed and then turned to face his soldiers below. "Earlier on this day, an assassin crept into the city and killed our queen, my most beloved wife. Not only did this assassin die by my own hand but he was a servant of Alexander Luthor. Luthor hopes that this shall weaken us; that I shall be weak in my grief and this city shall be easily conquered. I say that we send Luthor and his army to eternal damnation in the Underworld!" The soldiers shouted their war cry.

"We are not weak! I shall fight until my last breath. What about you?!" Carter cried. Another war cry was their answer. One of his guards pulled Lawton's head from the red sack. "Let us send this assassin back to his master!" Another war cry. Lawton's head was placed on a catapult and flung towards the enemy troops. Then Lawton's body was hung from the city wall as a warning to all who served the House of Luthor.

Months past and the dark stains on Carter's heart began to show. He showed no mercy on the field of battle or to prisoners of war. All of Luthor's messengers were executed and the emissaries allowed in the city were hung next to Floyd Lawton's rotting headless corpse. Many feared for the king's sanity but those who voiced their concerns were imprisoned on suspicion of treason. King Carter now mainly lived in isolation except for sessions of council and war council.

Prince Hector sat on the edge of his bed in the dark in deep thought. "Hector?" Hippolyta raised herself slightly. He glanced at her over his shoulder and grinned slightly. He lay back down and she rested her head on his left pec. "You still cannot sleep?"

"My father refused to see me once again. I had to force him off the field today for the physician to tend to his wounds. You should have seen the way he looked at me." Hector sighed. "I worry for him, Lyta, in body and in mind." Hector said.

"He will not admit it but he is grieving, my love." Hippolyta said.

"Yes but look at all he has done these past months. He trusts no one. He cares not for the welfare of the people. He is cold as ice and without mercy in all his judgments. That man is not my father." Hector said.

"No but perhaps…" Hippolyta gasped and raised herself.

"What is it?" Hector said and sat up.

Hippolyta rubbed her round stomach. "I think it is time!"

Carter kneeled before Shiera's tomb, where she laid in her sarcophagus. He rested his head against the stone and blindly traced his fingers along the carvings of their reign together. "Death cannot come soon enough, my love. Why do the gods forsake me?" Carter whispered.

"My king!" A servant called. Carter drew a long dagger, grabbed the servant, and had the blade at his throat.

"I was not to be DISTURBED!" Carter yelled.

"Forgive me, my king. But your son's wife has delivered the child." The servant said.

"Well? A son? A daughter?" Carter demanded.

"I know not, my king. He sent me to find you once the child's cries filled the chamber." The servant said. Carter growled and angrily left the crypt.

Carter pushed open Hector and Hippolyta's chamber doors. "Leave us!" He commanded the servants sternly. They bowed and left. "How dare you send for me! I was with your mother."

"I sent for my father so that he might see my son." Hector said.

"A son?" Carter asked. Hector stepped to the side. Hippolyta was in bed holding a baby boy. He had been cleaned and was wrapped in a linen blanket. Carter cautiously approached the bed. Lyta eyed him closely but presented the child to him. Carter carefully took the newborn into his arms. He looked down at his grandson and grinned for the first time in many months. "Hello there, little one." Carter said softly. "Well done, my son." Hector smiled.

The very next morning, King Carter commanded that all he had imprisoned on suspicion of treason were to be released and compensated with a gold coin for his cruel judgment.

One year later, Princess Hippolyta and Prince David would be sent away to Themyscira for their safety. And Luthor would retreat his forces back to Thanagar.


	5. Atlantis

**Atlantis**

2 Years After the Funeral Rites for Kal-El

"My father would never do such a thing! Our realms have been at peace for years since we married! We have children!" Queen Mera of Atlantis cried.

"Mera, your father has broken the peace! He has allied himself with the enemies of the League. He is of the Legion of Doom. He has broken his word and now I must keep mine. The League of Armies is to assemble and to set sail for Krypton at once. We sail by the next moon." King Orin said.

"So soon?" Mera asked somberly.

"Mera, I must go. I gave the League my word." Orin said.

"Why would my father do this? Yes, he always wanted someone of his blood to sit on your throne but his blood runs through our son's veins as well. He shall have all he desires. Why? Why would he do this?" Mera asked while pacing back and forth.

Orin leaned against the bedpost with his arms crossed. "Men with power only want more power, my love. I know you love your father and you love me but I will crush him if need be and conquer his kingdom." He said.

"You wanted this. And now you have your heart's desire!" Mera snapped.

Orin stood erect. "I would never do anything to harm you in body or in mind." He walked up to her and caressed her face. "And _you_, Mera are my heart's desire. I love you more than riches, kingdoms, and glory. You know that." He said softly. He gently rubbed her arms and she placed her hands on his chest.

"He is my father." Mera said somberly.

"And he is my enemy once more. I am so sorry, my love, but I have to go. He will bring down all we have worked for. And with this alliance, who knows the damage the Legion can inflict not only in our own kingdoms but the world." Orin said.

Mera nodded. "Just…spare him if you can. My sister cannot be trusted on the throne and I see her evil hand in this. My father would never want to lose a powerful ally such as you." Mera said.

"Then I shall be wary." Orin caressed her face. "I never wanted this for us." He said.

"I know. But you are the king and you do what you have to." Mera said.

"And sometimes with a heavy heart." Orin said and pulled away from her. He turned his back to her, ran his hands through his hair, and sighed. Mera placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and he turned around to face her.

"You must not be so hard on yourself, Orin. When the League was formed, you pledged more than yourself. You pledged your ships, your army, your people, and your loyalty. We all knew what we had to give for peace. So that our children would one day burn us and not us burn them. You must go. And do not let the shadow of doubt cloud your mind even for one moment. You must be strong and without fear in the face of your enemies. And you will be victorious and return to me in time." Mera said.

Mera placed her hand on his cheek. "I would be nothing but a shell of a man without you." Orin said.

"Oh, I know it." Mera said and they both smirked. They then kissed tenderly.

Some Weeks Later

At daybreak, thousands of soldiers boarded hundreds of war galleys and warships. And at noon, the royal family and their personal guard left the palace. Soldiers bowed as they rode passed them on their way to the largest dock on the island city. Orin dismounted and his gray war stallion was loaded onto his flagship, the _Queen Mera_. And half of his personal guard's stallions were loaded as well. Queen Mera's exited her carriage holding their infant daughter, Princess Mareena.

Orin towered over his son, Prince Arthur. He ruffled with Arthur's hair. "Watch after your mother and your sister." He looked at his younger brother, Orm. They gripped forearms. "I leave you with my most prized possession, brother. Guard them well" Orin said and Orm nodded. Then he stood before Mera and Mareena. "I had hoped we never had to do this again." Orin said.

"Nor I but you have to go." Mera said. Orin kissed Mareena's forehead. "Safe journey, my love. And I pray for your safe return and your victory." He and Mera kissed tenderly over the baby.

Orin caressed Mera's cheek. "Wait for me." Orin said softly.

"Always." Mera said. King Orin then turned away and boarded his ship with his guards.

1 Year Later

An Atlantean war galley rammed an Aqua war galley. Then a nearby Atlantean warship fired upon the Aqua war galley as their own galley reversed. Orin saw soldiers and sailors jumping overboard in their armor as the galley began to sink. "It appears it shall be a swift victory, my king." The admiral said.

"Yes. And that concerns me. Still no sign of King Leron's flagship?" Orin asked.

"No, my king." The admiral said.

"Something is not right." Orin looked through a lens and tube to see the Aqua fleet retreating. "Return to Erkol at once."

"But we have them on the run, Sire." The admiral said.

"Do as I command and tell our ships to return to Erkol." Orin said sternly and shoved the lens and tube into the admiral's hands.

"To Erkol! Fall back to Erkol!" The admiral commanded and signals were sent to the other ships.

Erkol, The Castle of the Ancient Bothgr

"The battle and victory was far too swift. We fought only a group of the Aqua fleet. I sensed a trap so I had my ships fall back." Orin said. He took a seat on a wooden settle.

"All the battles and victories have been swift of late. Our enemy is planning something and we are in the dark. Perhaps we shall know more once J'onn J'onzz returns. For now...League of Assassins are camped here. Zod still holds the Morstil keep in Bolenth. Oliver and Peter shall ambush Vertigo's forces here near the ruins of Xan before they can join Ghul. Orin still bombards Morstil but those walls were built to last and he still fights the Aqua navy. Carter and Shiera still lay seize to Thanagar. All these enemy and ally troops and this war seems to be going nowhere." Lois said and rubbed the back of her neck.

"We should concentrate all our might on Ghul. He had has the largest force outside Bolenth. We can finish off Ghul's and Vertigo's forces and then march onto Bolenth." Bruce said.

"Their cannons and catapults are still superior to ours and the forges in Kandor are working day and night as fast as they can to build the same war machines." Lois said.

"Let me pass!" Oliver yelled to the Red Shard knights. Peter and Oliver burst in the throne room of the Bothgr castle in the city of Erkol. "Vertigo is gone!"

"What?" Bruce, Diana, and Lois said in unison. Orin was sitting down on a wooden settle with his legs crossed, rolling his trident back and forth on his knee.

"It is true, my lady." J'onn walked into the chamber and bowed. "Werner Vertigo sails for Star City. The Aqua fleets sails for Atlantis. And Ra's al Ghul sails for Gotham. They all set sail days ago. And Luthor plans to attack the city of Cairo in Egypt." Orin shot up when he heard this.

"Divide and conquer." Bruce hissed.

"Why are Genesis and Themyscira untouched?" Lois asked.

"I know not." J'onn said.

"Well, I do not like it. I am sorry, Lois, but I shall return to Metropolis at once." Peter said.

"And my army shall remain here to aid Krypton." Diana said.

"I hate to leave you like this, Lois." Orin said.

"We all do. But we must defend our own kingdoms. Zod knew this." Bruce said. "He hopes that divided, we shall fall."

"Then let us hope that shall be the fate of his allies." Lois said. "This is not the end. We shall come together once again to crush Zod once and for all. For Kal-El." They all exchanged glances before exiting the throne room.

Some Weeks Later

"Atlantis is in sight, my king, and the city is under siege!" The admiral cried.

Orin looked through a lens and tube and saw the lower levels of the city in flames. "By the gods!" Orin swore. "Have the war galleys ram the blockades. The warships shall fire upon the docked ships so our troops can land." The drumming from the war galleys increased and echoed.

With the wind and the current in their favor, the war galleys rammed the blockade at full impact. The enemy ships' hulls were breached and they slowly began to sink. The war galleys reversed and rammed the ships again, breaking through the blockade. The warships moved in closer and fired upon the docked war galleys and warships. "Surround the island. Have the warships fire upon the enemy strongholds and the war galleys will land ashore with their troops." Orin said.

The sand of the beaches slowed down the galleys as they came ashore. The _Queen Mera_ was the only warship that joined them. Orin and his personal guards landed in the wet sand of the beach. They paid no mind to the water in their boots. "GET THE MEN INTO LINES!" War stallions were brought off the warships and Orin mounted his. "FOR ATLANTIS! FORWARD!"

"My queen, Orin of Atlantis has returned with his fleet and his army."

"A pity. I was just beginning to enjoy myself here. Bring my sister and her child to me." Hila, youngest daughter of King Leron and younger sister of Mera, said. She sat on her sister's golden throne in the throne room of the Atlantean palace. Mera was brought in shackles and an Aqua soldier held her toddler daughter. "Sister, your husband returns."

"Then it is not too late to end this madness! Tell your army to lay down their arms. Restore the peace between our realms! It is for the greater good, Hila. Release me and my child and Orin shall have no ill will against you and he shall not seek vengeance for this betrayal. Allow me to speak to the king, our father." Mera said.

"I am afraid our father can do nothing to stop this. He is old and I was made regent after I advised him to do such and to join the alliance of the Legion of Doom. He did whatever I told him to do, poor fool. But he was beginning to regain his senses and I could not allow that." Hila said.

"What did you do?" Mera asked.

"I slew him in his sleep some weeks ago. And I was careful. I could not let anyone suspect me. And he was old. When I said he died in his sleep, everyone believed me." Hila said and smirked evilly.

"You…!" Mera took an angry step forward but a guard stopped her.

"I was promised the thrones of Aqua and Atlantis and I shall have them. But first I must dispose of its heirs." Hila stood and descended the dias. "I know Prince Orm took the boy. Where did he take him?" Mera clenched her jaw shut and held her head high. "Very well." Hila motioned for the guard holding Princess Mareena to come forward and he did. She nodded once and the guard drew his dagger. Mera gasped. "Where did he take him?"

"Please. She is only a babe." Mera pleaded.

"Where did he take him?" Hila asked again.

"Hila, she is my child. Arthur as well. Please do not do this." Mera pleaded again.

"Where did Orm take the boy?!" Hila was growing impatient.

"They are of your blood! Please!" Mera cried. Hila nodded once to the guard. "NO!" Mera broke free of her shackles, which she had picked some days ago, and charged Hila. Hila was not expecting it but she still drew her sword.

"The Aqua army is in full retreat, my king."

"Any sign of King Leron?" Orin asked.

"No but scouts saw Princess Hila leaving the palace."

"Mera." Orin whispered. He gave his horse a kick and quickly galloped off for the palace.

Orin dismounted outside the palace and ran up the steps. He ran through the ajar doors. "MERA! MERA!" He screamed. He ran into the throne room and froze. He began walking slowly forward as if in a trance. Tears filled his eyes when he reached his destination.

Orin fell down to his knees before the bodies of his wife and daughter. The floor was still wet with their blood and it soaked his trousers. He let out a great wail as he held their bodies in his arms. He sobbed as he rocked them back and forth in his arms. His personal guard and soldiers heard his screams and ran in the throne room. They ran up to him and they too froze when they saw what greatly distressed their king. They removed their helms out of respect and bowed their heads.

Orin, dressed in all black, stood before the bodies of his wife and daughter lying on their funeral biers. He caressed Mera's cold, pale cheek with the back of his hand. "Wait for me." Orin whispered.

"Forgive me, my king, but we found Prince Orm and Prince Arthur."

Orin entered the throne room. "Father!" Prince Arthur ran into his father's arms. Orin wept and kissed his son's head. "Father, what is the matter?" Orin knelt down to one knee before his son.

"I feared I had lost you as well." Orin said and embraced Arthur again.

"We hid in the temple with the holy men. They gave us sanctuary. We just heard. Brother, I am so sorry. I tried to get them out but…" Orm said.

"You failed." Orin stood. "My wife and daughter are dead." He approached Orm. "My wife is dead!" He punched Orm's jaw and Orm fell down to the floor. "I trusted you to protect my loved ones! You were supposed to protect them! TO PROTECT HER!"

"They had already been captured! I could only save your son!" Orm cried.

"Get out of my sight and do not return." Orin said coldly. He turned his back to his brother and walked away. "Arthur, come!" Prince Arthur reluctantly followed his father but he kept glancing back at his uncle.

"I am sorry, Orin, but I had to make a choice! Orin! Orin!" Orm cried as they walked away. "ORIN!"

* * *

7 Years Later

The Atlantean fleet had taken all the small island posts surrounding the large island city of Xebel in the realm of Aqua. The island city was now cut off from the rest of the world and its allies.

"The war galleys shall attack the warships from the side while they focus on our own warships. Then a battalion in boats shall storm the beachhead while we distract their armada. When they take the beach, our ships pull back as we use our enemy's own war machines against them." Orin said.

"Then our goal is to take the first level of the city and then the next level, I take it." Prince Arthur said. At the age of eighteen, he was already an accomplished sailor and battle commander.

"Yes. If we are steady and careful, we can take the city in a matter of weeks." Orin said.

"And when the city is secure, we sail to Gotham to aid Prince Bruce." Prince Arthur said.

"All in good time. When we take the palace, I do not care what is done to my traitorous brother but Queen Hila is mine. We have unfinished business." Orin held up his harpoon hand. His military leaders were expressionless. "We commence the attack at dawn. Leave." They bowed and filed out of the room. "Not you." Prince Arthur stopped. The last commander left the room. "Speak plainly."

"Does my Uncle Orm have to die?" Prince Arthur asked.

"Orm chose his own fate when he allied himself with Hila." Orin said.

"Only because you banished him!" Prince Arthur said.

"Orm failed in his duty as Lord Protector when he abandoned your mother and sister to die to save his own skin!" Orin said.

"To save me!" Prince Arthur exclaimed.

"No! He would have abandoned you to die if you had not been training with him that day. He told me so…the day he and Hila did this to me." Orin held up his harpoon hand again. He put his good hand on his son's shoulder. "I did not want to tell you but you are all I have left. You are more precious to me than all I possess, than all that I am. I fought for vengeance for years but now I fight for peace. So that you will no longer know war and so that one day, your own children shall never know war. A wise king once showed me that a kingdom is more than land and riches. It is people as well. A king guides and protects. Remember that." Orin said.

Arthur nodded. "Now go and rest. Tomorrow may very well be the beginning of the end." Orin said.


	6. Genesis

**Genesis**

Some Months After the Funeral Rites for Kal-El

Lana screamed as she pushed again and cries filled the bedchamber. The physician held the wailing newborn baby. He took a knife and cut the cord. The midwife took the baby and began cleaning the child in a water basin.

Peter stood at once when he heard the child's cries. The physician then exited the bedchamber and bowed before his king. "Well?" Peter asked full of anticipation.

The physician grinned. "A son. A healthy son, Your Grace."

Peter smiled. "I have a son?"

"Yes, Sire. You have a son and we have a prince." The physician said.

Peter laughed and opened the door, where a good deal of his nobles and councilors were waiting outside. "I have a son!" He said cheerfully and clapping filled the corridor.

Prince Clark Ross lived his first six weeks of life and celebrations were held throughout the entire kingdom.

Over 1 Year Later

Peter loaded a modified crossbow, another one of Luthor's designs. He aimed and fired. The arrow hit the target dead center. "A fine weapon. Send word to King Bruce to send as many as he can spare." Peter said to Sir Perry.

"Yes, Your Grace." Sir Perry bowed and walked away. "Your Grace." He greeted Queen Lana.

"Papa." Prince Clark Ross said and Peter smiled. He took the toddler from his mother's arms and held him up with his left arm. The little boy kissed his father's cheek.

"Have you been a good boy for your mother?" Peter asked.

"No, he has not. And do not spoil him or he shall be a rotten little boy and that is not fitting behavior for a prince." Lana said. "Let alone for a king."

"Yes, you are right." Peter said.

"I know I am." Lana said and Peter grinned. "Another one of Luthor's new weapons?" She motioned with her eyes to the crossbow in his right hand.

"Yes." Lana took back Clark and he showed her the crossbow. "It is lighter, loads faster, and near perfect balance. The man is a genius with weapons of war. I wish my own engineer was as skilled as him." Peter said.

"We do what we can." Lana said.

"Yet I feel as if I have done nothing." Peter said.

"You rule with good judgment and with mercy unlike that of the Luthors and you rule this kingdom far better than your father did. May God rest his soul… The people know this. I know this. And so shall our son." Lana said. Peter caressed her face and grinned at her.

"Your Grace!" Sir John Henry Irons was running up to them. "Zod has allied himself with the enemies of the League of Nations and a vast army has invaded Krypton!"

"Send for my war council at once!" Sir John nodded once and ran off. Peter caressed Lana's face. "I shall find you later." She nodded once. He kissed her and then kissed Clark's brow. He quickly walked away.

1 Year Later

Peter and Oliver lay prone on a hill overlooking Vertigo's camp. There were some fires but there was no movement at all and there was only silence. "I do not like this." Peter whispered.

"Nor I but we cannot let him rejoin Ghul's forces. Let us be done with this." Oliver whispered. Peter nodded once and drew his sword. Oliver notched an arrow onto his bowstring. Oliver nodded to his archers. Peter and his knights quietly charged down the hill as the archers shot the sentries.

They reached the camp and began stabbing the sleeping soldiers but there was no blood and all remained silent throughout the camp. Peter kicked one of the soldiers and it was too soft. "Straw!" A knight yelled. Straw-stuffed leather cuirasses with blankets filled the camp. Even the sentries were straw-stuffed cuirasses on poles.

"If this is an ambush, where are they?" Peter said to Oliver. Oliver stood on the hill and shrugged his shoulders.

Later

"Let me pass!" Oliver yelled to the Red Shard knights. Peter and Oliver burst in the throne room of the Bothgr castle in the city of Erkol. "Vertigo is gone!"

"What?" Bruce, Diana, and Lois said in unison. Orin was sitting down on a wooden settle with his legs crossed, rolling his trident back and forth on his knee.

"It is true, my lady." J'onn walked into the chamber and bowed. "Werner Vertigo sails for Star City. The Aqua fleets sails for Atlantis. And Ra's al Ghul sails for Gotham. They all set sail days ago. And Luthor plans to attack the city of Cairo in Egypt." King Orin shot up from the wooden settle he had been sitting upon.

"Divide and conquer." Bruce hissed.

"Why are Genesis and Themyscira untouched?" Lois asked.

"I know not." J'onn said.

"Well, I do not like it. I am sorry, Lois, but I shall return to Metropolis at once." Peter said.

"And my army shall remain here to aid Krypton." Diana said.

"I hate to leave you like this, Lois." Orin said.

"We all do. But we must defend our own kingdoms. Zod knew this." Bruce said. "He hopes that divided, we shall fall."

"Then let us hope that shall be the fate of his allies." Lois said. "This is not the end. We shall come together once again to crush Zod once and for all. For Kal-El." They all exchanged glances before exiting the throne room.

* * *

6 Years Later

Peter sat on his throne in the throne room in a session of council in Metropolis. "What word from General Lane?"

"The 10,000 troops sent to Egypt have turned the tide against Luthor. They believe they can beat him on the open field of battle and stop any retreat to Thanagar. If they are victorious, then we can focus our strength on Krypton." Chancellor Kent Nelson said.

"Can we send no aid to Kansas?" Peter asked.

"No, Your Grace. With the might of our army in Egypt, our numbers stand under 6,000. Over one thousand men defend this city alone." Sir Perry White said. "Perhaps we can send some 200 knights or so but…"

"Silence." Peter said and tilted his head to the side. He heard a faint whistling sound. "Do you hear that?" He stood and descended the dias. He looked out the window and saw a warship some miles off. Then a series of cannon fire destroyed the throne room. In another part of the palace, cannon fire destroyed the royal chambers, where Queen Lana and Prince Clark were practicing his lessons of history. The people of Metropolis watched in horror as half the Metropolitan Palace was destroyed. By sunset, Davis Zod breached the city gates.

Commander Chloe Olsen of the Justice League stood over a map of Kansas in the sacked Hall of Justice. "Queen Lois wants patrols here, here, and…" Chloe was saying when Sir Bart Allen burst into the chamber.

"My lady! Kent Nelson is here and he is gravely wounded." Bart cried. Chloe followed him out.

Kent had been taken to an empty bedchamber. A physician tended to his head wound. His body was riddled in cuts and bruises. Chloe entered the chamber and rushed to his bedside. She set on the edge of the bed and took his hand. "Kent…"

Kent opened his tired eyes and grinned slightly. "Chloe. I found you." He said.

"What happened, my friend?" Chloe asked.

"They attacked without warning… Doom… The king…the king is dead. The queen is dead and the prince… All dead. I barely escaped." His breathing was labored and he was so pale. "Metropolis is lost… Genesis is lost." Kent's hand then went limp in her hands. He closed his eyes and sighed his last breath.

"What are we going to do?" Bart asked.

Chloe still held Kent's hand. "Assemble what knights of Genesis we have here. Ride back and find out who is left. I will settle my affairs here and join you soon." Chloe said.

"And what of the Justice League." Bart asked.

"Just do as I command!" Chloe said. Bart nodded and left the chamber. "I swear, Kent. They shall pay for this. They will pay." She said softly.

Some Weeks Later

"Chloe." Bart said. Sir John Henry Irons was with him. He had cuts and bruises on his face and arms.

"Bart… John." Chloe and John gripped forearms and embraced. They sat down in a secluded tavern in Genesis. "How are things here?"

"Not good. The cities and nearby villages have been sacked and are occupied by thousands of Zoners. All our cities and ports were attacked on the same day with warships far superior than ours. Another one of Luthor's designs I suspect." John said. "With the king's army in Egypt, we could not hold. Kent Nelson gave the command to retreat. He left to get help. Did he find you?"

Bart and Chloe lowered their eyes. "Yes but Kent is dead. The journey was too hard for him." Chloe said.

John sighed somberly. "The people were looking to him for guidance. They shall lose hope when word spreads of his death." John said.

"No. Quietly spread word of my return and that the Resistance shall ride again." Chloe said. John nodded.

"Have you heard from General Lane?" John asked.

"My uncle sails for Happy Harbor with an army near ten thousand men." Chloe said.

"Happy Harbor…? But no one has lived there for years!" John said.

"Yes. And with the right fortifications, the old mountain port can become a fortress. Attacking Metropolis or any of the cities is foolhardy and can only end in slaughter. My uncle did not like this but he saw reason. The harbor can serve as a safe haven for the people as well." Chloe said. John sighed but he nodded. "Send word to all who have not fallen in battle to make way for Happy Harbor."

John nodded. "There is something else you should know… There are many who believe with the king and prince dead that Luthor shall return and deliver us from the tyranny of the House of Zod." John said.

"Well, you can tell whoever you like that if Luthor returns, he shall die by my own hand." Chloe said. "Once the League defeats its own enemies, they shall come to our aid."

"And if they do not?" Bart asked.

"Then it shall be another long war, my friends." Chloe said.

1 Year Later

Bart Allen entered the large meeting hall deep in the mountain of Happy Harbor. The war council was in session. "Well? Does Zod's bastard's army march on Happy Harbor?" General Lane asked.

"No. He marches on Smallville. Zod is laying siege to the town as we speak and his bastard shall attack from the rear." Bart said.

"Without Krypton, Zod shall focus all his might on us and we shall lose a powerful ally." Chloe said.

"Why should we care? The Kryptonians could not even defend themselves from Zod's invasion. Kansas is all they have left…for now." Sir Michael Carter said. He sat on the edge of the table eating an apple. He wore blue trousers, his silver hauberk over a blue gambeson, and a blue brigandine.

General Lane and Chloe glared at him. "My daughter is the queen of Krypton and Krypton has aided us in our own conflict against Zod's bastard. Of all the good and honorable men we lost, God cursed us with you." Samuel Lane said.

"No God, just this." Sir Michael pointed to his skull, referring to his intellect. "I choose my battles carefully. Victory or death does not suit my needs, only survival and the simple pleasures of life." He smirked.

"Well, without Krypton's aid, you shall lose those simple pleasures. They provide us not with weapons but with food, clothing, nearly everything we have here!" Samuel Lane said.

"Now you speak reason? What is your plan, o great leader? Well, _leaders_." Sir Michael said. General Lane and Chloe were the unspoken leaders of his resistance.

Chloe looked at her uncle. "Is this a battle we can win?" Chloe asked.

"We only need attack the Bringer of Doom from the rear so that he would lose the advantage of his cannons and catapults. This may be a rare opportunity to deliver a crippling blow upon his army. We may never have another chance such as this." Samuel Lane said. Some other seasoned commanders agreed with her uncle.

Chloe sighed and crossed her arms. "I know many of you look to me and my uncle for guidance. You have put faith in us when many believed this war to be lost. We have fought many battles together, shed blood together, mourn our dead as one, but we have always taken care of our own. Lois Lane used to be one of us and now she is the queen of Krypton. Krypton has been a true and loyal friend since the war's end and Doom would have crushed us long ago without their aid."

"We may be the last of the League of Nations and our fallen king promised to give aid to his allies when needed. Any knight, any soldier, any man capable of bearing arms that wishes to march against the Zoner army at Smallville, take one step…" Chloe said. Every man in the meeting hall took a step forward. Even Sir Michael got down from the table and took a step forward. Chloe could not help but grin. "General Lane."

"Prepare all war machines and supplies and find methods in which to transport them. Conscript all knights, soldiers, and men of age capable of bearing arms. We ride for battle!" Lane cried. The war council drew their weapons and held them high in the air.

Chloe caressed Jimmy's left pec with her hand and listened to his heartbeat as he slept. He moaned. "What is the matter?" Jimmy asked.

"I do not know. I do know that I cannot sleep." Chloe said softly.

"You are like this before every battle." Jimmy said.

"But this is different and so much has changed. We are not as young as we once were. And now we have a son. This battle shall determine if he shall know peace or know war when he is a man." Chloe said.

Jimmy raised himself and caressed her face. "And that is why we shall fight this battle together." He sighed. "If this war rages on, I fear I shall die long before my time when all I desire is to grow old with you. But I shall lay down my life if it meant you and James would live on."

"No." Chloe sat up. "I could not bear it if I lost you."

"I am not invincible, Chloe. Something we both know due to this wound." Jimmy placed her hand on a wound on the right side of his abdomen. They had believed he would not live through the night but he miraculously survived. "Even the man your cousin loved fell in battle."

"That does not mean the same shall happen to you. There have been many times we believed we were going to die but here we are. So please do not speak like this." Chloe said.

Jimmy held her face in his hands. "You are the more skilled warrior and you know this. I need you to be prepared for if I do fall in battle." Chloe closed her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Do not weep, my love. I shall never truly leave you. I shall always be here." He pointed to her heart. "And you shall see me in our son's face… I love you, Chloe."

"And I love you." Chloe said. They kissed tenderly. Then they lay down and made love.

The next morning, Chloe helped Jimmy dress for war. She put his blue gambeson over his white shirt. Then his silver hauberk and his blue brigandine. Then Jimmy helped Chloe dress for war. He helped her put on her blue gambeson, her silver hauberk, and her blue brigandine. They both grabbed their sword belts and put them on. They then took each other's hands and looked deep into each other's eyes. Word did not need to be spoken.

Little James Olsen appeared at their doorway. "Mama. Papa. Please do not go." He said somberly and hugged both of their legs. Chloe stroked her son's blond hair.

Jimmy knelt down to one knee and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "We must, my son. You do not understand now but when you are a man, you shall know what your mother and I fought for." Jimmy said. He kissed the little boy's forehead and James threw his arms around his father's neck. Jimmy held him. "I just pray that when you are a man that you shall never know war." Jimmy unwrapped James's arms from around his neck, which made James cry. "You must be strong, my son. You must not let others see your tears." Jimmy said. James nodded and wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his shirt.

Chloe leaned down and kissed her son's head. "I love you, my son, and I want you to always remember that." She and Jimmy then left the bedchamber. They descended the stairs of their home. Lucy Lane was in their kitchen. Chloe walked up to her. "I leave our son in your care." Chloe said.

"And I shall care for him until or if you do not return, cousin." Lucy said. She and Chloe embraced.

Soldiers cheered when Captain Henry Olsen and Commander Chloe Olsen exited their home. They mounted their horses. A soldier tossed a spear to Jimmy and he caught it easily. "Save your strength for the battlefield, men! We may be fewer in number but when has that ever stopped us! The House of Zod's greatest mistake is that they did not fear us! Forward!" Chloe cried. The soldiers and knights shouted war cries and rode off to meet General Lane.

Some Weeks Later

Bart and Chloe lay prone on a hill overlooking the siege of Smallville. "The town still stands!" Bart said amazed. It looked like a great deal of the town had been damaged from bombardments but its walls still stood and all the fires had been put out.

"The peoples of Krypton and Kansas were always strong willed. What do you see?" Chloe asked.

Bart looked through a lens and tube. "I see the banners of Zod…and Luthor!" He handed her the tube.

Chloe looked through and saw Luthor's banner. "Hm, he brought perhaps a single garrison. His personal guard, no doubt. He is most likely here to see who is victorious." Chloe said.

"Then they are still in the dark of our coming." Bart said.

"Yes. For once, some good news. Come." Chloe said and they crawled backwards down the hill.

Bart and Chloe entered the command tent. "What remains of the Kryptonian army is putting up a strong resistance. I believe they shall hold." Chloe said as she approached the table.

"They were always strong-willed. We shall set up our cannons and catapults in the cover of darkness. Our first goal is to destroy their cannons and catapults for they can easily crush ours. Then they shall have to turn about. And if we attack at first light, then the rising sun to our backs shall blind them as we charge." Samuel Lane said. Chloe nodded.

Afternoon, the next day

The Genesis forces chased the Zoner forces to the Morley River. Thousands of Zoners went into the river in full retreat and only hundreds would emerge. And soon all the caches of black powders, cannons, and catapults caught fire. The barrels and cannons exploded, killing many Zoners in their path of destruction. Even Zod was knocked from his own horse. By sunset, he and his army were in full retreat running from enemy cannon and catapult fire.

General Samuel Lane lay in a bedchamber in the Small Castle. Chloe sat in a chair at his bedside and Jimmy stood beside her; both of them still in their armor and their bodies still covered in dirt, sweat, and blood from the battle. They held hands over her left shoulder and looked at their kinsman somberly.

Lois then entered the bedchamber, panting from running when she found out about her father. "Father…" Lois sat down on the edge of the bed and took his right hand. She wore black trousers and a red gambeson. Her face was still damp from cleaning off the blood, dirt, and sweat.

Samuel Lane took a labored breath and grinned at his firstborn. "My little Lo. I had believed that this would be my last battle." He said softly.

"No. The physicians need only finish mending your wounds." Lois said.

"Nothing more can be done. My wounds are far too grave… I always knew I would fall in battle or die in a bed. I just never thought it would be both." Samuel Lane said and coughed. Lois took a cloth and dabbed away some blood he had just coughed up from his lips, tears filling her eyes. "No. Do not weep, my darling. I can see in your eyes that something else troubles you."

"You know me so well." Lois hesitated and Sam Lane caressed her hand with his thumb. More tears filled her eyes. "It is my sons. Jor-El and Conner were taken when the town was breached during the siege. Zod has Conner and Luthor has Jo. I do not know what to do, father. I cannot lose you now."

Sam Lane squeezed her hand. "Listen to me. Jor-El is more valuable to Zod as Conner is to Luthor. They will not risk angering the other so they will have no choice but to bargain a trade: a son of El for a son of Luthor. You must…" He coughed and took a labored breath. "You must ambush the trade and get your sons back. I only wish I could be there to help you." He coughed. "But you need to be strong. You can no longer look to me for guidance." He took another labored breath. "I never thought I would say this but…I miss Kal-El. I mourned him as well." Sam Lane said.

"I always thought you loathed him." Lois said.

"No. I had nothing but respect. I loved that he made you happy. I had not seen you so amorous since your mother died. I despised the way he mistreated you in the last year of your marriage." Sam Lane said.

"We both were at fault. But we found each other again and I have more joyous memories with him." Lois said.

"It pained me to see you in such despair when he fell in battle. And then what that vile council put you through in your grief _and_ when you were with child. I felt helpless. I would have come to your aid if…" Sam Lane said.

"That is all in the past, father. And I do not want to speak of such matters when we have so little time left together." Lois said.

"Forgive me. There is so much I wanted to say but there is so little time." Sam Lane said.

"Shh… My children are just outside the door. They wish to see their grandfather one last time. Shall I bring them in?" Lois asked. Sam Lane's grin was his answer.

Lois rose from the bed and opened the bedchamber door. "Grandfather!"

* * *

General Samuel Lane lay on a pyre dressed in a long blue surcoat bearing his family crest over a black shirt and black trousers. Lois placed his sword on his chest and placed his hands around the hilt. She took some steps back and nodded to a Genesis knight, who poured scented oil on the general from head of the pyre to the end. When he was finished, he bowed while taking some steps back from the pyre. Chloe handed the torch to Lois. Lois lit the pyre from head to toe and then threw the torch on the pyre.

Lois then stood next to Chloe and they spoke in soft tones so they could not be overheard and they did not take their eyes off the burning pyre. They both wore black leather doublets and trousers. "What will you do now?" Lois asked.

"We must return to Genesis in case Doom seeks retaliation. And the other captains have chosen me to be their new general." Chloe said.

"Then they have chosen well." Lois said.

"Will you be alright?" Chloe asked.

"We have lost many men in the battle but so has Zod. It shall take time to rebuild both our armies. And Prince Bruce has plans to retake the city of Gotham. The Amazons sailed for Gotham some weeks ago. How did Zod know they were gone?" Lois asked.

"You already know the answer, Lois. But you fear to speak the word aloud. I shall only tell you to have care of who you speak to. The next few passing months shall tip the scale in favor of either of the League or the Legion of Doom. The war is coming to an end. I can feel it. The battles to come may very well be our last. We and our enemies shall suffer grave losses. Even those we love and care for may fall in battle but the scale need only tip in _our_ favor so that we can restore what has been lost. What your husband worked so hard to build and died defending: peace and justice." Chloe said.

"There are days when I can still hear Kal-El speaking those same words." Lois said somberly.

"Remember what Bruce said to us all those years ago. We are his heirs. We have fallen one by one for Clark's beliefs. You hide your pain by calling him by his name as king and not by the name of the man we both cared for." Chloe said.

"Careful." Lois warned.

"It is time someone spoke these words to you… You believe that ignoring your grief has made you stronger. That is a fantasy. I am not saying let him go; just stop fighting yourself. Open your eyes and see what he saw, believe in what we all believed in, and fight for what he died for. You have fought too long for vengeance. Now you and your people need a new purpose. They look to you for guidance. Now you need to stop looking to others for guidance. You were always wise, Lois. It is time to awaken the part of you that you believed died when Clark died. We need you. Not the queen of Krypton but you, Lois. And when you do this, you shall see that more than your own pains shall heal." Chloe said.

"This is a time when I wish you were not a student of Kent Nelson." Lois said.

Chloe smirked for a moment. "You know as well as I that Kent was wise beyond his years and rarely wrong." Chloe said. "Davis Zod has been weakened but he is not gone. Soon he and his father shall seek retribution and we must be ready. And we shall need the League. Rebuild your army; rescue your sons; and while I finish off the bringer of Doom, you must bring back together the League of Nations. Leave the Justice League to me."

"And just how am I supposed to do all this?" Lois asked.

"I cannot give you the answer but I have faith in you." Chloe said.

By noon the next day, Chloe mounted her horse and marched back with her army to Happy Harbor. They had big plans for Davis Zod.


End file.
